ROCKLAND — Marjorie Herrick Blackman Bickmore, 96, passed peacefully into the presence of her Savior on Saturday, July 27, 2019, at Quarry Hill in Camden following an extended period of declining health.

Born in Mars Hill, February 17, 1923, she was the daughter of Frank H. and Verna M. Landers Herrick. After moving to Camden with her family at a young age, she attended Camden schools and was a graduate of Camden High School, class of 1941.

On September 24, 1941, she married Fred Blackman in Massachusetts, where they eloped while Fred was enlisting in the military. They made their first home with Marjorie’s parents before moving to Granite Street in
Rockland. Fred and Marjorie had one son, Stephen. Fred served in the US Army during WWII, but was killed in the Battle of Okinawa just as the war was drawing to its close, and was a recipient of the Silver Star.

While she was raising their son alone as a war widow, Marjorie worked for several years in retail sales at The Bell Shop, a women’s clothing store in Rockland. It was at the invitation of her work supervisor Ruth Hoch that Marjorie began attending services at First Baptist Church in Rockland, where she met Luther Bickmore. Luther eventually invited Marjorie to accompany him on a sail, thus beginning their courtship. The couple was married on June 16, 1950, at the First Baptist Church parsonage by the Rev. Charles MacDonald.

For many years, Marjorie assisted her husband in the operation of his optometry practice in Rockland.

By God’s grace, she had been brought to saving faith in Jesus Christ under the preaching ministry of Reverand MacDonald, and she was a longtime active member of First Baptist Church in Rockland, where she taught Sunday School and Vacation Bible School, served as Assistant Treasurer and as a Pioneer Girl Guide.

At Luther’s encouragement, Marjorie took up the game of golf at age 40, and she continued to enjoy that game for the next 40 years. She was a member of the Rockland Golf Club, and she especially delighted in the camaraderie of the foursome in which she often played, comprised of Essie Dondis, Gerry McConchie, Gayle Kittredge and herself.

She also enjoyed many happy times at the Bickmore family’s camp on Morang Cove at Damariscotta Lake, from the time when she and Luther honeymooned there in June of 1950. She lived to see three more generations of her descendants make new memories at that special family spot.

Other than her parents, Marjorie was predeceased by her husbands, Fred Blackman and Dr. Luther F. Bickmore, as well as five sisters, Blanche, Murial, Hallie, Mary and Verna.

She is survived by her son, Stephen R. Blackman and his wife Virginia of Thomaston; two daughters, Susan F. Lindemann and her husband Merlin of Nicholasville, Kentucky, and Pamela B. Hughes and her husband John of
Rockland; five grandchildren, James S. Blackman, Renee K. Stanton, Kyle H. Cawood, Stephen R. Lindemann, David L. Lindemann and Sean T. Hughes; 29 great-grandchildren, as well as several nieces and nephews.

Marjorie’s family would also like to express their gratitude to all of her excellent caregivers, who tended to her needs both at home and in the Terraces and the Gardens of Quarry Hill, for by God’s grace, the ripples of Marjorie’s life and testimony expanded even more during her last years of declining health, and she was loved and respected by many.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit Tuesday, July 30, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.

A celebration of God’s faithfulness to Marjorie will be held Wednesday, July 31, at 10 a.m., at the Lakeview Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 188 Rockland Street, Rockport. The Reverend Stephen Tracey will officiate.

Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery, Camden.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Lakeview Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

To share a memory or story with Marjorie’s family, visit their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.