Tucson lost a community treasure with the passing of Marian Lupu earlier this month. The founder of the Tucson Council on Aging was remembered across southern Arizona for her selfless dedication to all in need.
Lupu founded the Tucson Council on Aging in 1965 and spent the next forty years directing the Council activities until she retired just ten years prior to her death. After stepping down from the Council in her eighties she served on the Board of Dancing in the Streets Arizona, which was founded by her daughter, Soleste Lupu, and son-in-law Joey Rogers.
Through “Dancing in the Streets Arizona,” primarily inner-city children learn the art of ballet.
According to Soleste, her mother’s strong dedication to helping those around her was developed during The Great Depression, Soleste and Rogers appeared last week on the popular James T. Harris radio show. During the Depression Marian’s family grew vegetables and traded for other staples such as butter and fish. They would then sell their wares in wealthy Chicago neighborhoods. Marian would accompany her family in a Shirley Temple doll outfit and receive pennies from those they would visit. Instead of keeping that money for herself, Marian gave it to her family and it was used on bus fare to get family members to their jobs.
[Listen to the interview here]
Soleste shared that while her mother was very giving, she was not afraid to let her voice be heard when a problem needed addressing.
“So my mother was invited to the White House conference on aging when Jimmy Carter was President and at that time the Panama Canal was going on. So she had 15 minutes with the President and they all packed in and the President started talking about the Canal and all the questions people were asking and mom sat about ten minutes and she was kind of scowling and then she said, she shook her finger, and she said ‘Mr. President! Why are you wasting our time? When are you going to talk about the aging issues?’” Soleste continued, “And flashback to 15 years later. My mother and father are flying on a plane and the then former President Carter is on the plane and he is doing the political thing, going back into coach and shaking hands and he stops at my mother and father and he looked at them. He looked at my dad and said ‘You must be a patient man.’”
From starting the Council on Aging to heading up the Board of Dancing in the Streets Arizona group, Lupu never wanted to focus on just one age group or body of people. She believed in helping all those who needed it, whether it was instructing someone on where to go for a referral or making sure that someone would be given the care they needed.
“My mother was a pioneer, and an advocate for those who could not really speak for themselves. She didn’t see elderly and children as separate issues. It really was a Circle of Life for her. Aging if it wasn’t an issue now it will be one day. If we don’t have healthy children we don’t have healthy grownups and healthy seniors. We have definitely been touched by so many people sending cards, even the mayor showed up at her Shiva and senators and just so many people have been offering their condolences and wishes and it is very touching.”
Marian passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family. Her last wish was that people would donate to Dancing in the Streets Arizona. Once again Marian put those around her first even in her last days.