In Memoriam 1992-1997/Marc Towers
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MARC TOWERS 1927—1996
We were saddened to learn of the passing of Mr. Marc Towers, an indefatigable servant of Bahá’u’lláh whose services to the Faith will be lovingly remembered and Whose spirit will be sorely missed. Kindly assure his wife, Florence, and their son David, ofour ardent prayers in the Holy Shrines for the progress of clear Marc’s soul in the Abhá Kingdom, and that they may be divinely comforted during this difficult time.
Universal House ofjustice May 8, 1996
are Towers was born in New York
City on January 23, 1927. When he was three years old, his family moved to Miami Beach, Florida, acting on the advice ofa doctor treating Marc’s younger brother for a rheumatic heart.
While being schooled there Marc discovered an interest in acting. When he graduated from high school, the family returned to New York, and Marc entered Columbia University, taking classes in writing and acting. During his summers Marc auditioned For and got major roles with a number of“road company” troupes performing Broadway shows. Deciding on a career as an actor, he left school to pursue his goal full—time.
Marc auditioned for roles on Broadway and was cast in several musicals. When none proved to be a major “hit,” he aCcepted an offer from an agent to move to Hollywood in 1955.
He made many friends, and within a year he was invited to a Bahá’í fireside. He investigated the Faith thoroughly. He often said that although he “felt his heart
move” on first hearing of the Cause, he wanted to be sure that he had, indeed, found the truth. In August of 1958 he made his declaration. He put the Faith first and cared little for his acting career if it interfered with activities to further the Cause of God.
He served on Local Spiritual Assemblies and taught anyone who would listen. In 1962 he received a cable from the Hands of the Cause, assembled in Haifa since the passing ofShoghi Effendi, appointing him as an Auxiliary Board member. At the time many of the friends were not sure what that meant, but it was a further opportunity to serve, and Marc accepted. His territory was everything west of the Mississippi Riverfrom that river running through the United States, to the continent of Australia and New Zealand! He was asked to travel to Hawaii to assist in forming the National Spiritual Assembly there. It was decided he could better serve the Australasia territory if he relocated to Hawaii, and without hesitation he did so, moving to Honolulu
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where he secured employment at a local radio station.
While based in Hawaii Marc made many trips to other Pacific islands, assisting the pioneers and bringing the Message of Baha’u’llah to villages in Samoa, the Fiji Islands, Tonga, the Mariannas, and the Solomon Islands. Often he traveled with the Hands of the Cause of God, the adventures and bounties ofwhich he often recounted in talks to friends in the United States.
After three years in Hawaii he was asked by the Hand of the Cause of God Collis Featherstone to relocate to Australia, and he moved to Sydney in 1967. He continued traveling throughout Australia and New Zealand, teaching and assisting the friends.
In 1969 he developed a respiratory illness that he could not seem to shake. He found himself without hands and could not get work, and reluctantly, but with the understanding of Mr. Featherstone, he resigned his position and returned to the United States, settling again in the Los Angeles area.
As he slowly recovered his health he continued to teach his beloved Faith. He was called upon to speak at firesides several times a week, and he never said no. His “Tales of the South Pacific” proved to be the attraction for many young people to investigate the Faith.
For the next nine years he was elected and served as a delegate to the National Convention from the Southern California district.
As his strength returned so did his resolve to do more for the Cause. During the 1979 Convention in Wilmette, Illinois, Marc was asked to read the letter from the Universal House of Justice. One of the items in that letter was a call for four volunteers to pioneer to the Virgin Islands. After a brief consultation with his wife, Florence, he arose and volunteered on their
behalf to help fill that goal.
THE BAHA’I’ WORLD
In 1979 Marc and Florence moved to the US Virgin Islands, where they remained until 1994. Marc served on the National Spiritual Assembly OFthe Virgin Islands for thirteen years. Because of illnesses suffered by Florence, they decided that a move back to the United States was necessary.
They made the move in May 1994 to Hendersonville, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville. Within a few months of their arrival, Marc began to suffer from severe headaches and loss of memory. He was seen by top medical expects in Nashville, where, following a series of tests, X—rays, and MRls, he was found to have an extensive, inoperable, malignant brain tumor as well as a malignant tumor in his lungs. He was hospitalized in mid—March, 1996, and passed away on April 28, 1996.
In death, as in life, Marc is serving the Faith. He is the first Bahá’í interred in Hendersonville. His tombstone bears a nine—pointed star with the word “Bahá’í” in the center, and the inscription on the stone reads, “Thy trust hath been returned unto thee—Baha’u’ilah.”