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Obituary for Hunter R. Marion

Hunter R. Marion, 82, of Upper Providence, retired president of Quaker Photo, died of heart failure last Thursday at Springfield Hospital. In the late 1940s, Mr. Marion went to work as a darkroom technician at Quaker Photo in Philadelphia. Eventually he and a partner bought the company, which had been established in the 1920s. Clients included the photo departments of The Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News. Mr. Marion made publicity prints for The Mike Douglas Show and high-quality prints of the lunar surface for RCA's space division in the 1960s, said his son, Robert. Mr. Marion was an inventor and innovator, his son said. He patented a device that automatically numbered photographic prints; called a Name Plater, it was purchased by the White House photo department. A certified master photographer, Mr. Marion was a member of the Society of Commercial Photographers and the Photography Marketing Association. He retired in 2002. Two years later, Quaker Photo merged with Chroma Copy to become Quaker Chroma Imaging in Moorestown. Robert Marion is a co-owner. Mr. Marion's father died when he was very young, and his mother sent him to Girard College in Philadelphia, then a school for fatherless boys. In 1992, he received an Award of Merit from the Girard College Alumni Association. During World War II, he served in the Navy in the Pacific. He loved dogs and enjoyed fishing, electronics and computers. He was a skilled craftsman, his son said. Progressive heart disease limited his mobility in the last six or seven years, his son said, and he created gadgets and adapting appliances to make household tasks easier. Mr. Marion was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In addition to his son, he is survived by daughters Patricia McCarrin and Lori Rudloff; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. His wife of 51 years, Loretta Fleming Marion, died in 1997. A Funeral Mass was said Saturday at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Springfield. Inurnment was in Arlington Cemetery, Drexel Hill. Memorial donations may be made to Girard College, 2101 S. College Ave., Philadelphia, 19121. .>>