Marion was born 3 Dec 1894 in Freehold NJ. The family moved to Wichita KS in 1904. She became a charter member of the College Hill Methodist Church (Wichita, KS) in 1907. Listed as age 15, born in New Jersey, in 1910 census with her family. She attended Wichita High School 1909-1913 and Fairmount College 1914-1918 gaining a B.A. degree. She was listed in the 1920 Witchita census as a high school Teacher, age 25, with her father, brothers, step-mother and her 2 children.
She taught at 2 Kansas high schools before becoming a Methodist missionary and beginning 40 years as an English professor at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, Korea in 1922. During her 1st sabbatical leave she attended Boston University, Boston, MA graduating with an MA degree in 1929. During her 2nd sabbatical leave in 1936/7 she did advanced study at Chicago University, Chicago, IL.
During WWII she was secretary of the YWCA in Wichita, served as dean of women at McKendree College, Lebanon, IL and worked at the Methodist Mission's headquarters in New York City. She returned to Korea in 1948 until the Korean War when she taught at Tokyo Woman’s Christian College. She received an honorary doctorate in literature from Ewha University in 1956.
On 19 May 1963, the College Hill Methodist Church held Marion Conrow Day in honor of her return after 40 years of missionary service. She wrote 2 books, many articles and belonged to many honorary societies and professional organizations.
She died at 5:25pm on the 5th of March 1986 in the Health Care Wing of Frasier Meadows Manor, 350 Ponca Place, Boulder CO. Memorial Services were held Thursday, 13th March, at the Frasier Meadows Manor Chapel and on Tuesday, 18th March, at the College Hill Methodist Church Wichita KS. Marion was also honored at the 1986 Assembly of the United Methodist Women as one of "100 Women in Mission".
[Obituary] The Wichita Eagle - Wed, 12 Mar 1986, pg 20
Marion Conrow Gave Her Life to Teaching and Religion
Marion Lane Conrow's most important goal in life was to fulfill her duties as a Methodist missionагу.
In doing so, she traveled extensively across the country and to Asia - including Korea and Japan.
"She just had the idea that missionary work was what was meant for her to do with her life," said Harriet Morris, a friend who spent 20 years working as a missionary alongside Miss Conrow in Seoul, South Korea. "She was a good missionary who was efficient and worked very hard. She loved it." "She was a very outgoing, happy person who looked on the bright side of everything." a longtime friend said of Marion Lane Conrow.
Miss Conrow, 91, died March 5. Memorial services are scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday at College Hill United Methodist Church in Wichita. She was born December 3, 1894, in Freehold, N.J., and was 10 when her family moved to Wichita. After graduating from high school, she attended Fairmount College, where she graduated in 1918.
Miss Conrow began as an English teacher at Mulvane High School and later taught at Beloit High School. But in 1922, after becoming a missionary for the Methodist Church, she traveled to Seoul, where she taught English at Ewha High School.
Between trips to Korea, Miss Conrow became an English professor at Ewha University. She also founded the "English House" where students and teachers studied, worked and worshipped. "She liked the Korean people," said Morris. "They were always friendly and most enthusiastic about education and Christianity."
After returning to the states in 1940, she worked briefly at the YWCA in Wichita. Miss Conrow later became the Missionary Personnel Secretary for the Methodist Board of Missions in New York City.
In 1948, she returned to Korea to teach at Ewha Women's College. But her teaching was curtailed by the Korean War, which prompted her to travel to Japan. There she became professor of English at Tokyo Women's Christian College.
Miss Conrow, who wrote three books, later returned to Korea and remained there until her retirement in 1962. She resided in Wichiita until 1970, before moving to Boulder, Colo., where she became a resident of Frasier Meadow Manor.
"She was a very outgoing, happy person who looked on the bright side of everything." said another longtime friend, Ethel Strickland.
Miss Conrow is survived by a nephew, R. Brown Conrow of Pearl River, N.Y.
A memorial has been established with International Foundation for Ewha Women's University, Marion L. Conrow Fund, C/O Moon Hong, Executive Director, 475 Riverside Drive, Room 1221, New York City, 10115. Crist Mortuary, Boulder, Colo. is handling services.