Donald M. Marquis passed away on July 29th, he was 88. Like so many in his generation he caught the jazz bug after hearing Louis Armstrong 78s and then seeing his All- Stars perform live. He was very proud of meeting the great man in his dressing room as an eighteen year old.
After graduating high school in Goshen, Indian Marquis joined the Navy, serving from 1951 to 1955. Returning home he majored in English at Goshen College, then worked briefly in Cleveland writing greeting cards before moving to New Orleans in 1962 to research jazz history. He worked for the Times Picayune, The New Orleans Public Library, and then was curator of the New Orleans Jazz Museum which he helped to bring, in its current incarnation, to the US Mint.
The New Orleans Jazz Museum was founded in 1961 by members of the New Orleans Jazz Club. The club's collection of materials, more than 20,000 items, was cared for in several locations during the 60s and 70s. In 1978 the materials were donated to the State of Louisiana which stored them at The US. Mint, opening the Jazz Museum there in 1982. Marquis was an active member of the club, and editor of its magazine, the Second Line. It was joked that Don Marquis "came with the collection." After his retirem
