When Marcia Ellen Gilroy moved from Michigan to Silver Spring at 70, she wasn’t ready to retire. She had spent decades as a psychologist and teacher in Detroit, but instead of slowing down, she earned a new license to practice in Maryland and joined a clinic specializing in ADHD. “At 70, making that kind of change was hard, but she did it,” said her son, Matt Nosanchuk. “She was very persistent and ultimately got licensed in Maryland.”
Gilroy died on Sept. 26 at 85. In her later years, she built a fulfilling Washington-area life centered on family, work and community. She lived in downtown Silver Spring and later at the Ring House in Rockville, a senior community where she could connect with others who had led meaningful and accomplished lives. “She wanted to be in an environment with people like her,” Nosanchuk said. “Older adults with shared experiences and values.”
Her Jewish identity was a constant throughout her life. Raised in Detroit’s Jewish community, she attended Mumford High School, known for its large and active Jewish student body, and spent summers as a counselor at Camp Tamarack in northern Michigan.
“She was part of that postwar generation of Detroit Jews for whom education, culture and community service were central,” her son said. In Maryland, she found herself among familiar circles — fellow Detroiters and Jewish contemporaries at the Ring House — and valued the traditions and friendships that grew from those shared roots.
Her friend and neighbor Fran Greenfield said Gilroy “was golden” — a warm, nonjudgmental presence who gave others confidence. The two became close after meeting in their building. “We were new friends, but we did a lot of things together,” Greenfield said. “You felt you could talk to her about anything.”
Another friend, Wendy Zack, a therapist who also grew up in Detroit, called Gilroy “outgoing, vivacious, extremely intelligent, cultured and fun.” The two often visited museums, traveled to New York and shared a love of fashion. “She developed a new life here,” Zack said. “She loved the culture, the city and being near her family.”
Her warmth and curiosity extended beyond friendships into her professional life, where she quickly earned the respect of colleagues. Psychologist Kathleen G. Nadeau, who hired Gilroy at the Chesapeake Center in Silver Spring, wrote: “I was impressed by her desire to continue working and immediately took a liking to her. Marcia quickly integrated into my small ADHD specialty clinic and was such a pleasure to work with.”
Nadeau also invited her to join a book club, where she discussed a wide range of titles with new friends. “Thinking of her brings a smile to my face,” Nadeau said.
Born Sept. 30, 1939, in Detroit to George and Mildred Kollenberg, Gilroy graduated from Mumford High School in 1956 and earned a full scholarship to the University of Michigan. She received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and began her career as a high school math teacher, first at Hialeah High School in Miami and later at Wylie E. Groves High School in Birmingham, Michigan.
She married Saul Nosanchuk and lived for a time in Windsor, Ontario, commuting across the border to teach in suburban Detroit. After their divorce, she raised her son in Detroit, earned a master’s degree in psychology from Wayne State University and became a school psychologist for the Birmingham, Michigan, public schools.
In her 40s, she returned to the University of Michigan for a Ph.D. in psychology and education. She later ran the psychology residency program at Children’s Hospital of Michigan, taught at the University of Detroit Mercy and developed a private practice. She changed her name to Gilroy after marrying John Gilroy in 1975; they divorced in 2000.
Her life was marked by resilience. Diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in her 30s, she endured full-body radiation. Twenty-five years later, she faced breast cancer, and a decade after that, another recurrence. “Notwithstanding all those incredible health issues,” her son said, “she continued to take care of herself and others, to be a mentor and friend to so many.”
Gilroy’s empathy and insight shaped her clinical work. “She was a perceptive listener who had tremendous compassion,” her son said. “That was her superpower.”
Her grandson, Seth Nosanchuk, remembered her as “very present” throughout his life. As a child, he spent summers visiting her in Michigan. “She had this little dog, Sasha, and we’d always give her a bath — it was a whole production,” he said. “When she moved here, she helped me with my math homework. Later, we’d talk about relationships and people. That’s what she loved most — human connection.”
Gilroy embraced Washington life, joining cultural outings, making new friends and building intergenerational ties.
A lifelong liberal, she had taken her son to a George McGovern rally in Detroit in 1972. At 80, when asked where she wanted to celebrate her birthday, she chose Montgomery, Alabama, to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice with her son and grandson.
“She passed along her values and commitment to social justice,” Nosanchuk said.
Those ideals shaped both her outlook and the way she lived her life. “She would want to be remembered as a loving mother and grandmother,” Nosanchuk added, “and as a professional woman who pushed past boundaries — someone who used her skills to help others and never thought it was too late to pursue your ambitions.”
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
