1. Marion Marguerite Stokes was an American access television producer, businesswoman, investor, civil rights demonstrator, activist, librarian, and archivist, especially known for hoarding and archiving hundreds of thousands of hours of television news footage spanning 35 years, from 1977 until her death in 2012, at which time she had been operating nine properties and three storage units.
Marion Marguerite Butler, later named Marion Marguerite Stokes, was born on November 25,1929 in Germantown, Philadelphia.
Marion Stokes was courted by the Communist Party USA, who sought to develop her as a potential leader.
Marion Stokes worked as a librarian for the Free Library of Philadelphia for almost 20 years.
Marion Stokes was spied on by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and she and her husband and son attempted to flee the United States and defect to Cuba.
Metelits and Marion Stokes separated in the mid-1960s when their son was four.
Marion Stokes was on the founding board of the National Organization for Women.
From 1967 to 1969, Marion Stokes co-produced a Sunday morning television show in Philadelphia, Input, with her husband John.
Marion Stokes has been called a pioneer and visionary who committed much of her life to preserving televisual history.
Later in life, when she was less agile, Marion Stokes trained a helper to do the task for her.
Marion Stokes started the taping project because she became convinced there was a lot of detail in the news at risk of disappearing forever.
Marion Stokes's final recording took place on December 14,2012, as she was dying; it captured coverage of the Sandy Hook massacre.
Marion Stokes's collection is not the only instance of massive television footage taping, but her care in preserving the collection is unusual.
Marion Stokes kept the unopened items in a climate-controlled storage garage for posterity.
Marion Stokes invested in Apple stock with capital from her in-laws while the company was still fledgling.
Marion Stokes then allocated part of her profits to her recording project.
Marion Stokes bequeathed the entire tape collection to her son Michael Metelits, with no instructions other than to donate it to a charity of his choice.