Marguerite Scott Lambrinos

Marguerite Lambrinos (née Morris), public school teacher and author whose memoir Leaving: one woman's story of verbal abuse chronicled her years living in an abusive relationship and her successful journey of rebirth and self-fulfillment, died September 9, 2025 in Pasadena, California. She was 80. She leaves a legacy of people who she helped break free of constraints to grow their own stories.

Marguerite was born August 30, 1945, in Trenton, New Jersey, but she grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Narberth, Pennsylvania. She was the second child born to Joseph and Marguerite (Peggy) Morris. The family eventually grew to include three sisters (Diane, Tracey and Marylin) and two brothers (Robert and Michael). Her father nicknamed her Missy, which is how she was known in the family. She was a shy and quiet child, who found it difficult to express herself verbally or make friends easily. Instead, it was easier to express herself in her journal. Her outward persona tended to be a collaboration with her extrovert older sister who served as public voice and spokesperson.

She graduated from Lower Merion High School and received a Bachelor of Science from Eastern Michigan University, one of the few places at the time that offered a degree in special education. In her late 20's she moved to Wheaton, Maryland in suburban Washington D.C. where she took a teaching job in the Prince George's County Public Schools. She taught special education at a time when most students with intellectual and developmental disabilities were not fully integrated into the regular school, and their presence was often grudgingly tolerated more as daycare than education. Her classes included a wide range of ages and abilities, which complicated her teaching. In addition, disabilities were only part of her students' challenges. Many faced poverty, neglect, and prejudice. Marguerite became their champion. She helped them achieve ambitions and goals that were often dismissed as unattainable. Her classroom was a place where everyone could succeed and take pride in their accomplishments. Sharing in their successes brought her great joy, but their setbacks were also her own.

In middle age she moved to Pasadena, California. Like many before her, the move west was an opportunity to remake her life. Professionally, she left special education and embarked on a new challenge: teaching first and second grade. She took special joy in fostering a love of reading and the arts in her students. Most of this part of her career was spent at Wild Rose Elementary School in Monrovia, California. It was here that she met Jennifer Schwandt. Marguerite taught Jennifer's son in first and second grade. Later, Marguerite was a mentor as Jennifer embarked on her teaching career. They grew to be close friends—mermaid sisters—who shared a passion for the ocean.

After she retired, Marguerite moved to the small beach community of Port Hueneme, California. At first it was isolating. She had ended her marriage of 33 years. She was a long traffic filled journey across southern California from her friends and her developmentally disabled son Miguel. She was the only resident of a partially completed new housing development whose owners had gone bankrupt—her only neighbor being the nightwatchman posted at the gate. But this period was an awakening. She developed a new spirituality and found a spiritual home at A Place of Peace in Ventura, California. She developed a rich new circle of friends. She embraced the ocean as her constant companion. And she began to write. Her memoir, written as Marguerite Morris, was not only a way to heal herself but it also allowed her to continue helping others. She gave frequent talks to support groups for survivors of domestic violence, and she directly helped many others find the confidence to free themselves from abuse and to imagine new lives.

Dementia forced Marguerite to reinvent herself one final time. She had to leave her life by the sea and move to the Pasadena Highlands assisted living facility. Again, she turned what could have been an isolating contraction of life into a new version of herself. She quickly made a new circle of friends, and she was a ubiquitous presence at social and cultural activities. She was particularly passionate about live music, theatre, and the arts. And she continued to write. Until her illness finally forced her to stop, she had been writing her next book about the spiritual connection we have with the ocean. Throughout her life the ocean had provided her with comfort and wonder. In one of her last journal entries she wrote: I am the sea and the sea is me.

Marguerite is survived by her two sons, John and Miguel, and by five siblings Tracey, Robert, Michael, and Marylin.

A celebration of her life will be held on November 1 from 11:00 AM-2:00 PM at Cabot&Sons Funeral Home, 27 Chestnut St, Pasadena, CA 91103

A reception will be held after the celebration from 3:00-6:00 PM at Mijares Mexican Restaurant, 145 Palmetto Dr, Pasadena, CA 91105

Donations can be made in Marguerite's name to the Surf Rider Foundation