PENSACOLA, Fla. — Memorial services for Marion McCrea, 88, of Pensacola, Fla., who died peacefully Thursday, July 22, 2010, were Sunday, July 25, 2010, at Azalea Trace Auditorium in Pensacola.

Arrangements were under the direction of Harper-Morris Memorial Chapel in Pensacola.

Mrs. McCrea was born Jan. 3, 1922, in Opelika, Ala., the daughter of Stuart Elton Fitch and Laura Clay Fitch. She was a graduate of Auburn University where she met her late husband of 60 years, James Walter McCrea. She taught for a number of years in New Jersey, New York and California. She and her husband retired to Perdido Bay, Fla., in 1980, where she and her husband were founding members of the Perdido Bay United Methodist Church. They moved to Azalea Trace in 2001.

She had a lifelong love of art which she began studying as a young woman in New Jersey. She became a prolific artist in oil, pastels, water color and folk art. She especially enjoyed portrait painting. She was an avid reader and a member of the Azalea Trace Book Club.

Marion and James were members of a number of bridge clubs since the 1940s, a hobby she continued while she resided at Azalea Trace. Writing her memoirs on her computer was a hobby she pursued in her later years.

She was preceded in death by her parents; one sister, Dorothy Fitch; one brother, the Rev. Elton Fitch; and her beloved husband, James, who was a native of Natchez.

Survivors include one daughter, Pamela L. Rogers and husband, Chuck, of LaGrange, Ga.; two sons, James S. McCrea and wife, Mary Ellen, of Annapolis, Md., and Peter C. McCrea and wife, Ellen, of Hickory, N.C.; one sister, Marjorie Funchess of Auburn, Ala.; seven grandchildren, James R. McCrea and wife, Jenn, of Easton, Md., R.C. Jason McCrea of Annapolis, William T. McCrea of College Park, Md., Charles R. Rogers IV and wife, Wendy, and Brandon C. Rogers and wife, Melissa, all of Atlanta, Peter C. “Clay” McCrea and wife, Andrea, of Columbus, Ga., Kate McCrea and Claire McCrea, both of Hickory, N.C.; five great-grandchildren, Bailey Lane Rogers, Josie Caroline Rogers, Piper Elizabeth Rogers, all of Atlanta, all of Atlanta, Lucas Gregory Rogers of Decatur, Ga., and Logan R. McCrea of Easton.

Memorial donations may be made to Safe Harbor Women’s Resource Center, 813 East Gadsden Rd., Pensacola, FL 32501, 850-439-2511.