1923-2006
Marie Whigam helped her husband Charles Whigham to found Citi National Bank (1973) and Whigham Funeral Home.
Mayor Sharpe James called her “the queen of our city”, saying “she was a role model for young and old”.
Marie also founded the Women’s League, which raised money for scholarships and was active in the Boys and Girls Club and NAACP.
Marie was born in Newark as Marie Doris Foster and lived at 15 New St and later Bergen Street. After marriage, Charles and Marie opened the funeral home at 581 High Street. She married Charles Whigham in 1943 and they were married for over 50 years.
Bibliography
Census records
Roberts, Reginald. “Marie F. Whigham, Newark Role Model” Star Ledger Nov 23, 2006
“Variance to Rebuild Funeral Home” Newark News Nov 30, 1960
Al Henderson Collection Photo, Newark Library
Newark Library Digital Collections: 1, 2
“Women’s League to Hold” Afro American April 15, 1961