Marsha Wolf Beidler of Princeton died unexpectedly on November 6th in Chapel Hill, NC. She was 75. Prior to moving to Chapel Hill for the winters in 2022, Marsha lived in Princeton for over 45 years, and served as an estate planner to many elite clients in the Princeton area.
She was born on Leap Day in Bridgeton, NJ, in 1948 and enjoyed celebrating two birthdays on years without February 29ths. She was the second daughter of the late Esther Wolf and Benjamin Wolf and grew up in Southern New Jersey and Hollywood, Florida. Since Esther died of cancer when Marsha was 11, and Benjamin remarried shortly thereafter, she very much considered Margaret “Manci” Wolf a second mother.
Those who knew her well knew she could talk to anyone, and her vibrancy lit up a room whether she was talking about the law, politics, her children, or the latest history book she devoured. Marsha loved people, and they loved her. She was often described as the “energizer bunny,” able to stay active and keep hours that made others tired. She often went to bed at 4 am and awoke at 11 am. She loved spending time with her family, extended family, and friends, playing bridge, learning everything she could about World War II, traveling, and shopping.
Marsha was a devoted wife to her husband, John Beidler, whom she married in 1974 and who also recently passed away in late August. Many who loved her think she died of a broken heart since John pre-deceased her by only two months, and she had spent many hours every day for 10 weeks sitting by his bedside in the ICU this past summer.
Marsha was quick as a whip and skipped kindergarten. She attended South Broward High School and earned her BA from Dickinson College in 1969. She loved Dickinson College and encouraged many students to attend. She then went on to law school at Rutgers University School of Law where she graduated in 1972 and received the American Jurisprudence Award in Estates and Trusts. It was at Rutgers that she met John Beidler, her husband of 49 years.
After earning her JD, she worked at the IRS in the Estate and Gift Tax section from 1972- 1976 but then went on to get additional training in tax law and received her Master’s of Law in Taxation from New York University School of Law in 1979. After that, she was in private practice, concentrating her practice on estate tax planning and probate law, where she prepared hundreds of trusts and wills yearly, mostly at Drinker Biddle & Reath (DBR), now Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP of Princeton.
Marsha loved the law and particularly estate planning. Her understanding and love of people as well as the intricacies of tax law helped her to be a very sought-after estates attorney with academics, executives, authors, and even Nobel Prize winners. Over her lifetime, she was licensed to practice law in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida. She was a Fellow in the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel and served on the board of directors of many non-profit organizations and had leadership roles in the Mercer County Estate Planning Council. She lectured on estate planning for numerous organizations, including Princeton and Rutgers Universities and numerous national corporations. She was awarded the “Super Lawyers” distinction for 2005-2014.
Marsha and John adopted two children, Dora and Evan Beidler, from Bulgaria in 1997 when they were ages 5 and 3. The children, now adults, live in Kingston and work in Princeton. She loved her children deeply and tirelessly supported their growth, education, and lives. She was also a devoted aunt to her nieces and nephews and had many friends.
She is survived by her older sister Andrea Wolf Miller, with whom she was tremendously
close, and brother-in-law Norman Miller, her step-sister Agnes Ross, her step-brother George Chillag, her sister- and brother-in law, Mary and Nils Hovik, her children, Dora Beidler and Evan Beidler, and her nieces, Eliana Perrin (married to Andrew), Suzanne Colman (Steve), Dana Gaines (Ric), Amy Chillag (Wayne), and nephew, Thomas Ross (Laura). She is survived by many great nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. She was also particularly close to her great nephews, Jonah and Daniel Perrin, and cousins, Kathi Wolfe and Stuart and Lois Lourie.
Marsha’s ashes will be buried in Princeton Cemetery next to her beloved husband. Gatherings of friends and family will take place in Princeton and in Chapel Hill in the coming months. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in the name of Marsha Beidler to “HomeFrontNJ: Helping Families Break the Cycle of Poverty” or “LearningAlly: Audiobooks for Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities.”
To contact the family, email beidlermarsha@gmail.com.
Emails will be collected by her beloved niece Eliana Perrin and forwarded to the family.