In Memory of Marge Stannish
(August 8, 1946 – April 3, 2007)
Marge Stanish28 (1 paper) became a familiar face at CAD RETECs over the years and presented several key note papers on basic color science. “During her 30+ year career, Marge experienced a variety of roles on both sides of the technology, as both a system user and a color science educator. While she enjoyed an extended tenure with Applied Color Systems, her career was bookended by positions in manufacturing settings, placing her at the intersection of color science theory and practice. This grounding in production environments enhanced her ability to successfully implement color control systems in a variety of settings, troubleshoot their performance and design training programs and materials to support a wide range of color control system operators
Marge attended Cleveland State University with a BS in Economics and a minor in Chemistry. In the late 1970’s, Marge began her career in color technology as lab technician in the paint lab of Mobil Chemical in Cleveland, OH. From 1981 to 1993, Marge worked for Applied Color Systems. She began as an Application Specialist supporting users of ACS color control systems in a variety of pigment-based applications. In the late 1980’s, ACS made a significant commitment to user education creating an Educational Services group, and undertaking the production of a color theory video series in partnership with Ralph Stanziola. Marge was tapped as the executive producer of this multi-year project. Innately talented in bringing people together, she facilitated a collegial relationship between the video production professionals and the color science subject matter experts assembled for this venture. Industrial Color Technology: Theory and Applications was the product of this successful collaboration. A comprehensive survey of fundamental color science principles and practical application examples from a variety of industries, the five-part video series remains a foundational reference work for any user of industrial color technology. Following the completion of the project, Marge finished her tenure with ACS/Datacolor as the Product Manager for their newly created retail color matching product, Paintmaker, helping to establish it as a standard tool for retail color design.
In 1996 Marge was hired as Manager, Instrumental Color Technology by Penn Color, where Marge expanded her knowledge of the operation and maintenance of a variety of instruments and software packages including Byk-Gardner, Minolta and X-Rite color measuring/color matching systems, as well as appearance instrumentation including haze and gloss meters. At the April 2012 NPE Show in Orlando, Penn Color introduced their newest technology, a color measuring device the “Chroma Sort M,” named after Marge—a rare gesture that speaks to their appreciation of her technical contributions to the organization and perhaps, more importantly, their esteem for her as a member of the Penn Color family.
Dignified. Without fail, Marge treated everyone she encountered with the utmost respect, while maintaining her professional and personal integrity. Graceful. Marge had a quiet elegance about her—she was the quintessential professional. And that laugh! Everyone who has shared recollections about Marge since her passing has remarked on her extraordinary laugh. We can all find comfort in the recognition that she left us better than she found us—we are better color technologists and better human beings for having crossed paths with her.”