The Eula D. Marcks Garden

The Michigan League's Hidden Oasis

Large tree at the Eula D. Marcks Garden, September 19, 2024, by Stevie Raisman.

By Stevie Raisman

Exploring Michigan’s campus looking for a quiet and peaceful place to work, you may stumble upon what seems like a hidden oasis at the Michigan League. Sheltered by an enormous tree and dotted with a patio of tables and chairs, the Eula D. Marcks Garden has a calming atmosphere that pulls you in to make homework a bit more bearable.

Eula dePriest Marcks was a 1933 graduate of UM. She and her husband Oliver Dewey Marcks were philanthropists whose foundation gave UM "$250,000 to renovate the gardens" (“Eula"). Amongst Eula's contributions to the university was the creation of the University of Michigan Alumnae Council’s Birthday Greeting project in 1961. The project has raised more than a million dollars by annually asking "alumnae and women who support" UM to "contribute one penny for every year of the university’s history" with the funds going to projects such as the "Center for Continuing Education of Women, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, Matthaei Botanical Gardens, the Michigan League, and Henderson House Cooperative (The Alumnae Council).

The last name Marcks, like the similar names Marks and Marx, trace their roots to the Roman god of war: Mars, according to SurnameDB.com. Mars is “associated with courage, [and] strength,” (Kabir) two characteristics that Eula demonstrated through her devotion to charity. The surname is also thought to have a "topographical origin," denoting a person who lives near a border, as in they "mark" the spot ("Last Name"). And like her last name, Eula has left a lasting mark on her alma mater.

Photo of Eula dePriest Marcks, courtesy of Ancestry.com.

Empty table and chairs at the Eula D. Marcks Garden, September 19, 2024, by Stevie Raisman.

Plaque at the Eula D. Marcks Garden, September 19, 2024, by Stevie Raisman.

Works Cited

“Eula D. DePriest Marcks.” Find A Grave, 2024, findagrave.com/memorial/11078169/eula-d.-marcks. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

Hanks, Patrick, et al. Dictionary of American Family Names. 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, 2022. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

Kabir, Syed Rafid. “Mars: the Roman God of War.” History Cooperative, 2 Sep. 2022, historycooperative.org/mars-roman-god-of-war/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

“Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation.” Cause IQ, Nonprofit Metrics LLC, 2024, causeiq.com/organizations/oliver-dewey-marcks-foundation,386081311/. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

"Last Name: Marks." SurnameDB, surnamedb.com/Surname/Marks Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

Photo of Eula D. Marcks. Member uploaded image, Ancestry.com, ancestry.com/genealogy/records/eula-depriest-24-2t6r4p. Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

Raisman, Stevie. Eula D. Marcks Garden plaque. 19 Sep. 2024. Author’s personal collection.

Raisman, Stevie. Large tree at the Eula D. Marcks Garden. 19 Sep. 2024. Author’s personal collection.

Raisman, Stevie. Table and chairs at the Eula D. Marcks Garden. 19 Sep. 2024. Author’s personal collection.

The Alumnae Council. "The Alumnae Council: Women of Vision for Michigan." The Alumnae Council of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, 2004. alumni.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/alumnae_booklet.pdf Accessed 3 Oct. 2024.

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