A Detroit-area writer, photographer and public relations specialist, Marion "Hodie" Bemis was the half-sister of WSU Journalism Professor W. Sprague Holden.
Marion Louise Holden Bemis (nicknamed "Hodie"), was born in Santa Ana, California in 1893, the daughter of Charles and Frances Cooke Holden. Her parents were divorced while she was quite young,and she spent her childhood with her mother in California. After her mother's death, Marion moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, eventually going on to attend the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She married Elden J, Bemis, who died in 1949. Marion H. Bemis came from a family of writers. On her father's side, her grandfather, former Michigan Secretary of State E.G.D. Holden, was a novelist in his spare time (see MS/Holden, E.C.D.). Her half-brother, W. Sprague Holden, was a professor of journalism at Wayne State University (see MS/Holden, W. Sprague). Marion also went into writing as a career, During her college years she served as managing editor of "The Inlander", a student publication. Following graduation, she worked as a newspaper reporter in Lansing and for the Detroit Free Press. She also served as Public Relations Director for Cranbrook Institute and as editor for the Women's City Club magazine in Detroit. In 1951, Marion Holden Bemis was listed as one of 250 women, beginning with Madame Cadillac, selected as having contributed the most to the development of Detroit, in honor of the city's 250th anniversary. Marion Holden Bemis died in 1963
From the description of Marion H. Bemis papers, 1891-1966 (Detroit Public Library). WorldCat record id: 664114068
