20-03-2025
Conneaut remembers Bob Marcy
CONNEAUT — City residents are remembering Bob Marcy, who died Tuesday.
Marcy was a fourth-generation owner of Marcy Funeral Home, and a major part of the Conneaut community for decades.
Marcy was a member of the Conneaut Rotary Club, where he served as a board member and president, according to his obituary.
The Rotary Club was notified the morning he passed, club secretary Wendy DuBey said.
'Everybody was really shook up,' she said.
Rotary Club board member Chris Brecht knew Marcy all his life, he said.
'Professionally, I've known him probably for the last 30 years, and worked with him closely,' he said.
Brecht remembered working with Marcy at First Congregational United Church of Christ, which they both attended.
'He had continued all the way up until last week, being involved in various activities throughout the community,' Brecht said.
Brecht said Marcy was involved in fundraising for the local fire and ambulance services, and starting the Band-O-Rama fundraiser for the Conneaut Music Boosters through the Rotary Club.
'There isn't a project in Conneaut that Bob Marcy wasn't involved in, in some way, shape or form,' he said.
According to the Rotary Club's announcement of Marcy's passing, he also started the Friends of Conneaut Creek, the Lakeview Christmas Card Project and the Project Pride Award.
'Bob is someone who has brought numerous ideas and suggestions to the community and made sure they happened,' Brecht said. 'Many of those things were before I was even born, much less old enough to be involved in.'
Marcy started a Conneaut Newspaper called HomeTown News around 1985 with future Conneaut Mayor Lew Shiley.
Patrick Williams worked as a reporter and editor at the paper, saying it lasted for around five years and focused only on Conneaut, having no wire content.
Williams first met Marcy when he worked for the News Herald in 1968, he said.
'Over the years, we got to be really good friends,' he said.
Williams said Marcy was a very compassionate person.
'I've never seen a man work so hard to try to please the people of his community,' he said.
Williams was surprised to hear of Marcy's passing, he said.
'He's going to be missed,' he said.
Rotary Club President-elect and Conneaut Area City Schools Superintendent Lori Riley said Marcy's death is a loss to the community and the school district.
'I know him as a grandpa, who'd come in and watch sports,' she said. 'When we redid the gym, he was very happy that we had put the new rails up, so he could get up and down the bleachers.'
Riley recounted the last time she talked to Marcy.
'I had a great conversation with him at the Rotary,' Riley said. 'He just expressed gratitude in the band and how well the program's grown.'
Riley will miss seeing Marcy at district events, she said.
CACS board member Penny Armeni gave condolences to Marcy's family at a Wednesday board meeting.
'[He] will definitely be missed in the community for everything that he's done,' Armeni said.
