WILMINGTON — Marie Louise Solomon Kahn, born in Wilmington NC on June 17, 1925, the eldest daughter of Harry M. and Louise F. Solomon, passed away peacefully at home in her sleep on May 27, 2025, twenty days shy of her 100th birthday. For someone who steadfastly stated she was ‘not ready to go,’ she certainly put forth great effort to stay around.
Marie was predeceased by her parents, her sister Jean Turner, her husband Max Kahn, their first child Debbie and her daughter-in-law Julie Stone.
She is survived by her sister Catherine Solomon, children Rachel Wofford (Rick), Betsy Kahn and Paul Kahn, as well as her grandchildren, Seth Wofford, Charles Wofford, Jaquie Kahn, Brad Kahn (AnnaMarie), and her step grandchildren Meghan Kennedy (Alex), Ryan Kennedy (Crystal), Dylan Stone (Allie), Zach Stone (Marissa), Dom Stone.
Marie, a proud Wilmington native, had cherished memories of riding the trolley down to Wrightsville Beach for extended visits with her grandparents. She graduated from New Hanover High School in 1943 and matriculated to Woman’s College of the University of North Carolina (WC, now known as UNCG) where she majored in art. There, she also spent an enormous amount of time playing bridge which would continue well into her 90s.
Sometime in 1948, Marie met Max on a blind date, having been introduced by mutual friends in Wilmington. Their courtship culminated in marriage on November 26, 1949 which continued until Max’s demise on December 6, 2017.
While she dabbled in an array of mediums such as pottery, sewing and creating Temari balls, her artistic abilities shown most brightly through her culinary talents (she was a member of a gourmet group established over 40 years ago) and her penchant for flower arranging, especially that of Ikebana (she held a coveted teacher’s certificate from in the Ikenobo school).
Always civic minded, Momma served on many local boards throughout her life and was especially proud of following in her father’s footsteps by being appointed in the 70s to the Wilmington Housing Authority board. Not only was she the first woman commissioner but also went on to become the first woman board chair. However, despite her many years of outstanding service in this capacity, the ever-present HUD anacronyms were the bane of her existence.
The family is deeply grateful for the extraordinary care given to Momma by her primary caregivers Glo and Dee, who we consider to be family; they were assisted by Nicole, Brenda, Von and Julie. As well, much gratitude goes out to Momma’s neighbors Sara and Hans, and Debbie and Cindy, who did a wonderful job of keeping an eye on Momma as well as being dear friends.
A small graveside service will held on Friday, June 6, at 10am, followed by a brunch. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, June 14.
