A Career of Giving Comes Full Circle

The Boutique in GBMC’s new home for cancer care, the Sandra R. Berman Pavilion, can be an important part of a cancer patient’s recovery by helping to restore their sense of normalcy. Well-chosen clothes and accessories can aid them in looking their best, which, in turn, helps them feel better. It is something Marion Thompson has long understood firsthand and is one reason her contribution to the Berman Pavilion is funding the Boutique.

Marion began her career in fashion. She took her degree from the University of Delaware to Manhattan’s fashion mecca, 7th Avenue, where for several years she worked on the women’s clothing pages of the Montgomery Ward catalog. When she was transferred to Albany, she entered a new position in personnel at the company. It was the beginning of a long career in what is now called Human Resources.  

Along the way, Marion developed a set of skills that have been helpful, not only to employers like Baltimore Aircoil, from which she retired in 2009, but also to the many organizations for which she volunteered as a board member, from early in her career well into retirement. GBMC HealthCare is one of several organizations on whose boards Marion has served, often in leadership roles.

“Marion Thompson has been an outstanding member of the GBMC Board and she is a dear friend,” GBMC President and CEO Dr. John B. Chessare attested. “She has used her wealth of experience and knowledge – particularly in Human Resources – to help guide GBMC through the years.”

Twenty-four years ago, Marion Thompson was new to the board of the GBMC Foundation when her primary care physician diagnosed her with breast cancer. He recommended an oncologist in Howard County, where she lives, but Marion thought, as a new board member, she should look for someone at GBMC. Here, she found Dr. Lauren Schnaper, Dr. Sheri Slezak, and their team at the Sandra & Malcolm Berman Comprehensive Breast Care Center.

“GBMC has been very good to me,” she said. “I’m grateful for the care, the compassion and the expertise of the doctors who have looked after me. By funding this cancer boutique, I aim to pay tribute to the exceptional care I received and to support the hospital’s mission to provide ongoing top-notch cancer care. I also hope this space will serve as a haven for patients and families, offering comfort, resources and hope during challenging times.”

In addition to the Breast Center team, Marion was treated by oncologist Dr. Gary I. Cohen until his retirement. Then, she saw Dr. Paul Celano until they agreed to cease regular checkups when she was about 20 years cancer-free. It is an outcome for which she is deeply grateful and a life-changing experience that inspired her generosity to the new cancer building at GBMC.

Her thoughtful contribution has inspired GBMC to name the Marion G. Thompson Boutique in her honor.