Marion Murner Harten

Marion Murner Harten, age 88, died peacefully at the Benedictine Living Community in Northfield, MN on September 13, 2026.

Marion was born in Portland, OR and moved with her family to Chicago prior to the advent of WWII. As the realities of the war impacted our nation, Marion’s father was drafted to serve in the Navy and she moved with her mother and siblings to Aberdeen, SD. She lived there from 1944-1946 with her maternal grandparents and had vivid memories of the war years: rationed goods; service flags hanging in windows (with blue stars for her father who was serving in the Navy and her uncle who was serving in the Army); city-sponsored paper, scrap metal, and war bond drives; and hearing the troop trains rolling through town day and night. She also remembered the Victory Gardens, collecting milkweed pods that grew along the railroad tracks for use in parachute manufacture, and spending evenings listening to the Philco console radio for word about the war and the troops. Those were lean and fragile years, but they were softened by the interesting airmail letters and packages that arrived from her father from faraway places like Hawaii and Guam.

Marion returned to Chicago with her family when her father concluded his military service. She attended Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School and Alvernia High School. She loved school plays and playing violin in the orchestra, sharing fun and friendship with the neighborhood kids, and delighted in the company of her two siblings, Duane and Madeline.

In 1955, Marion left for Ripon College where she was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and served as the chapter secretary. She graduated in 1960 with a degree in history. She moved back to Chicago and went to work as Secretary for the Dean of Admissions at Northwestern University School of Law, meeting her husband, Jim, who was a student there. They married in 1962, started their family in 1963, and remained in Chicago until 1964. Upon Jim’s graduation, the family moved to Mankato, MN so he could start his legal career.

Marion loved Mankato and ensconced herself in numerous community and family activities. She was a Cub Scout Den Leader and Girl Scout leader, a docent and holiday party organizer for the Blue Earth County Historical Society, a volunteer and Board member at the YWCA, a member of the League of Women Voters and Mankato Art History Club, and an active garden club member. She also volunteered at Roosevelt Elementary School during her children’s school years there.

In 1992, Marion and Jim moved to Northfield, MN and Marion became involved in many local activities. She conducted tours at the Northfield History Center, volunteered for the Northfield Arts Guild and Historical Society, was a member of the Garden Club, and served on the Boards of the Area United Way and the Northfield Public Library. In her later years at the Benedictine Living Community, Marion organized the front entrance planting displays and stayed active in the many activities offered there.

In addition to gardening, Marion enjoyed decorating, antiquing, playing bridge, reading British novels, annual lake vacations in Nisswa, entertaining her many friends, and caring for her two cats.

Marion is preceded in death by her beloved husband, former Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge James Harten; her parents Harold and Helen (Kelly) Murner; her sister Madeline Murner; and her brother Duane Murner. She is survived by her two children, Joe (Susan) Harten of Charlotte, NC and Molly Harten of Alpharetta, GA; two grandchildren, Graeme (Ryanne) Harten of San Anselmo, CA and Cartland Harten of Melbourne, FL; her great granddaughter, James Vera Chitjian Harten; her sister-in-law Anne Murner; and numerous cherished nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be sent to the Northfield Public Library at https://mynpl.org/home or the Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind at https://chicagolighthouse.org/