Marjorie Gnaegy Thuis

Marjorie Gnaegy Thuis passed away peacefully after a brief illness on Tuesday January 10. Mrs. Thuis was a native of Chester, Illinois, a small town on the Mississippi River about 60 miles south of St. Louis. She spent her first thirty years there, working as a legal secretary in the bank building and looking after her mother. In 1952, she moved to St. Louis, where her love of dancing led her to take lessons at Quinlan’s Dance Studio. It was there she met Howard Thuis, the love of her life. The two shared not just a love for ballroom dancing (“Whenever they put on a rhumba, he headed for me!”) but also for sailing, which they undertook with a passion in competitions in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The couple lived in Granite City, IL where Mr. Thuis had a career as a machinist, and later took over newspaper delivery for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Mr. Thuis died shortly after their move to Wendell, NC in 1986. A resilient person, Marjorie adapted to her new life and loved singing in the church choir at Covenant Presbyterian and taking long drives through the countryside. Adept from her youth at the piano and organ (she was for many years organist at First Presbyterian Church in Chester), she also composed songs and enjoyed Big Band music. Mrs. Thuis is preceded in death by her brothers Roland and Elmer Gnaegy, and her sister Inez Gilster. She is survived by her nephew Paul Gilster of Raleigh, NC and his family, her nephew Gary Gnaegy and her niece Sharon Gnaegy, both of Greenville, NC. A graveside service will be held at Greenmount Cemetery in Wendell at 11 AM on January 17. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the SPCA of Wake County, a gesture Marjorie would have appreciated. The family thanks Sunrise of Raleigh for the friendship and support its caregivers gave to Marjorie in her last three years. She deeply appreciated these people, and so do we.