Obituary: Stella Marrs, Former CEO Of MLK Multi-Purpose Center​

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Dr. Stella Marrs, the longtime executive director of Rockland County’s Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center, died at her home in South Carolina on Feb. 25. She was 92.

Dr. Marrs was inducted into the Rockland County Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2003. She was noted then for her participation in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s in the South and for her dedication to empowering families during the two decades she was CEO of the Center.

Center officials said:

Dr. Marrs’ tenure at the Center from 1986 to 2006 was marked by a significant expansion of the Center’s physical plant, which was funded by grants from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. There was also a dramatic increase in the number, scope and quality of the Center’s Programs, which provided much needed services to our Spring Valley ‘Hill’ community. Dr. Stella Marrs' extensive outreach also brought into the King Center’s orbit, many individuals, non-profit organizations, businesses and government agencies, in the service of her “Beloved Community,” as no one dared say “No” to Dr. Stella Marrs. Her motto was, “the impossible only takes a little longer.”

Rockland County Executive Ed Day recalled Dr. Marrs, saying she was a force to be reckoned with in Rockland.

"She and I corresponded frequently via email, until her passing, about the issues that we face here in Rockland County and Stella’s commentary and insight was always welcome and certainly one of the “Bright Moments” of my days," he said.

Per Dr. Marrs’ wishes, her funeral service will be private and will take place in South Carolina, Center officials said.

She requested, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made in her memory to the Martin Luther King Multi-Purpose Center, 110 Bethune Blvd., Spring Valley, New York 10977. Attention: Mr. Nathan Mungin III, Executive Director.

The Center, with the permission of her family, is planning a “Bright Moments” Celebration of the life of Dr. Stella Marrs in the near future.