Biographical Sketches of Urban Thomas Marr
and
Dorothy Canisius Marr
Urban T. Marr 1906-1984
Dorothy Canisius Marr 1910-1994
Source: Business Men of Iowa, Midwest Publications Inc., Des Moines, 1953.
Urban T. Marr. President, Marr Knitting Company, Incorporated, Osage, born Sumner, February 16, 1906, son of William and Anna (Cashman) Marr. He graduated from New Haven High School in 1924. He started in the knitting business in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1926, came to Osage in 1946 and established the Marr Knitting Company, Incorporated, of which he has continued as president to the present date, the company employing one hundred persons locally. He is a member of the Osage Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Elks (Charles City) and Holy Name Society. His religious affiliation is with the Catholic Church. Hobbies: fishing, and miniature railroading with his son. Married, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, July 26, 1931 [1930 is cq], Dorothy E. Canisius, daughter of Charles and Minnie (Mullen) [should be Mueller] Canisius, Children: Joan G.; married to Alex Nagy; William T.; and Thomas U. Marr.
Source: Mitchell County History 1989, page 356. Biography written by Tom and Gladys Marr.
Urban T. Marr, legally named Thomas Urban, was born in New Haven, Feb. 16, 1906. He finished High School at St. Marys Academy and married Dorothy Canisius in Sheboygan, Wis., on July 26, 1930. They had three children, Joan Elizabeth [Joan Gertrude is cq] Nagy of Murfreesboro, Tenn., William Thomas of Miami, Fla. and Thomas Urban of Newton, Iowa.
In late 1945, the family moved to Osage, and with the help of younger brother Francis started Marr Knitting Inc., on Feb. 6, 1946. Francis left the business in 1949 and in 1951 a group of business men including Urban took over Management and Operation of the Business. At its peak there were 100 employees making 750,000 pairs of gloves and mittens a year and putting $4000 a week into the economy of Osage. This was the only knitting mill of its kind west of the Mississippi.
Urban and Dorothy Marr with their grandchildren
outside their house in Osage, Iowa, around 1960.Because of financial and import problems, the business was closed and the assets were sold in 1963.
Urban was on the board of directors of the American Knit Glove Association, Mayor of Osage during 1953, 1954, 1957 and 1958. The last time that he was elected Mayor it was a write in vote and he got about 75 percent of the votes cast. He was active in the Rotary club where he served as President for a time. He was involved with the Boy Scouts, Holy Name Society, Knights of Columbus, Sacred Heart Church and many other church and civic activities.
Urban received many awards for outstanding work in every organization he belonged to and enjoyed it all. The best part about Urban is that he was an excellent Father, husband and family oriented man. A very loving and caring person.
After the mill closed he and Dorothy moved to Wisc. and then on to Arizona where they retired in 1979. Urban passed away one day after his 78th Birthday in 1984, in Phoenix. Dorothy is now a resident of Saint Annes Home in Milw., Wisc.
Source: Mitchell County History 1989, page 356. Biography written by Joan G. Nagy.
Urban Thomas Marr, son of William H. Marr and Anna Cashman Marr, born on Feb. 16, 1906, in Sumner, Iowa, where his father owned and operated a butcher shop. The family began farming near New Haven in Mitchell County within a few years after Urban's birth. William and Anna had three other sons and four daughters. After graduating from St. Mary's High School in New Haven, Iowa, Urban moved to Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where he became a knitting mill machinist.
Dorothy Canisius, daughter of Charles Canisius and Minnie Mueller Canisius, was born on April 17, 1910, in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, where her father owned and operated a tavern. In addition to one other daughter, the family included five sons.
On July 26, 1930, Urban Marr and Dorothy Canisius were married in Sheboygan at Holy Name Catholic Church. Their first child, Joan Gertrude, was born in Sheboygan on July 5, 1931.
The family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1934, where Urban continued as a knitting mill machinist. Two sons were born to the couple in Appleton: William Thomas, on August 3, 1936, and Thomas Urban, on June 24, 1938. During the children's elementary school years, Dorothy was active in volunteer work at the schools and as a Girl Scout leader.
In 1945 the family moved to Osage, Iowa, where Urban and his brother Francis established a knitting mill. Urban served Osage as mayor for two years, 1954-55 and 1960-61, and was active in the Knights of Columbus, Holy Name Society, Boy Scouts and Rotary International. He was a regular donor to the Red Cross Blood Bank and served frequently as a volunteer for community projects and fund raising. Dorothy's skills in various needlecrafts and other craft fields benefited both her family and the charitable projects to which she donated her time and talents. She also owned and operated a candy/gift store for a time in Osage.
In 1968, Urban and Dorothy retired to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where their son Thomas was living, in 1975. Following a series of strokes, Urban moved into Sacred Heart Home in Phoenix in 1977 and died there on February 17, 1984. He is buried in Phoenix, in St. Francis Cemetery.
Dorothy also lived in Sacred Heart Home, but moved to St. Anne's Home, where she still lives, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, after her husband's death in 1984. Their children all married and presented Dorothy and Urban with a total of 12 grandchildren.
[Note: Dorothy died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 17 MAR 1994 and is buried in Phoenix with Urban.]
Above sketches contributed to the Mitchell County IaGenWeb site by Barbara A. Nagy, <73111.2061@compuserve.com>, March, 2003