Inga B. Marcus

Inga Birgitta Rapp was born June 17, 1942 in Uppsala, Sweden. She was the daughter of Nils and Tillan (Sund) Rapp. Inga had a lifelong love of animals including dogs, a calf she raised while working on a local farm, and her favorite, horses.

Her parents ran a grocery store and were well known by everyone. Inga was locally known as precocious child. She was friendly, fearless and always coming up with imaginative games. Including making a car out of a cardboard box. Which she decided to “drive” in actual traffic. Luckily, the store’s delivery boy rescued her before she was hit by a real car.

Inga left Sweden when she graduated from high school to become an au pair for an American family stationed in Frankfurt. In 1960, she became the au pair for Per Lowdin’s family. He was pioneer in quantum chemistry and founder of the Quantum Theory Project at the University of Florida. This role took her to Gainesville, Florida, where she met her first husband, Dr. Thomas Collins, one of Lowdin’s PhD students. She returned to Uppsala briefly, where her first daughter, Carin, was born. In the spring of 1964, their little family moved to Fairborn, Ohio – where Tom worked in the Theoretical Physics Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Their second daughter, Sonja was born at WPAFB that August. Inga briefly taught Equestrian Studies at Antioch College in Yellow Springs.

Inga became a non-traditional student when, as a married, mother of 2, she went to Greenon High School to get an American high school diploma, in order to apply to nursing school. She was the first married nursing student at Community Hospital School of Nursing, in Springfield. Becoming a nurse was always her dream and being a nurse was her passion. She worked at Mercy Hospital in Springfield and the former Barney’s Children’s Hospital (now Dayton Children’s).

After her divorce, she met David L. Marcus, a medical student doing a surgery rotation at Mercy. On July 19, 1975, they were married. In February they welcomed their daughter, Kristina. The following year, their son, Daniel, was born.

In 1979 they moved to Wilmington, Ohio and truly settled in. This is where she returned to her childhood passion, horses. She had 3 Swedish Warm Bloods sent to the USA and founded Uppland Farm. At one point she had 18 horses, ran a breeding program, trained in both Dressage and jumping, and offered lessons and held clinics for experienced riders.

In 1983, their youngest daughter, Rachel, was born. She completed their family and was as fearless and precocious as Inga.

Inga was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters and brothers in law: Ulla (Ebbe) Redander, Sonja (Sixten) Wesslin, in-laws: Jean (Nate) Rodner and Barry Marcus. She is survived by her husband, David, her children and their partners: Carin (Garth) Little, Sonja (Adam) Kranbuhl, Kristina Marcus (Thad O’Neill), Dan (Amy) Marcus, Rachel Marcus (Louis Wolf) and grandchildren Nicole, Lauren & Ryan (Kourtney) Little, Alek (Holly), Ian, Paige (Karl) Spaeth, Adam (Sierra) Kranbuhl, Lena O’Neill, Emma & Addi Helwagen, Brynlee and Grant Marcus, Danika Marcus and Dean Wolf, and 4 great grandchildren.

The Family would like to thank the caregivers at Brookdale Senior Living for their kind and compassionate care of Inga for the past 4 years. There will be a Celebration of Life scheduled at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers please consider a gift to the hospital of your choice or Smile Train (a cleft lip and palate repair non-profit).

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