Marsha Demkovich, of Dune Acres, Ind., died Thursday, May 24, 2012 after a difficult but brief battle with cancer.

Marsha was born in Plymouth, Ind., January 22, 1951, to Paul and Polly Miller of Bremen, Ind.

She is survived by her husband, Rick Demkovich, son Alex (Elise Daxe) and grandchildren Jake, Charlie and Lily of Chesterton, Ind.; her daughter, Mary Beckworth and grandchildren Emma and Abigail of Silver City, New Mexico; her sister Diann Parsons of Plymouth; her mother, Polly Miller Anderson of Bremen and her brother Mark Miller of South Bend.

Marsha invited numerous foreign exchange students into her home, so her “children” also include Larsen Rabines from Lima, Peru, and Denise Erlich, from Berlin, Germany.

Marsha was a 1973 graduate of Purdue University and a long-time resident of the Chesterton area. Except for a brief residence in Pennsylvania, she had lived in north Porter County since 1973. She always enjoyed the Lake Michigan beach, and since 2000 lived in Dune Acres.

Marsha was born in Plymouth, Ind, and grew up surrounded by farming and gardening. She was an avid and knowledgeable gardener and took great pride in her house full of flowers and a year-round vegetable garden.

Marsha’s greatest joy was children and showing them ways to look at the world. She taught art to children at her school, Sandhill School of Art, for more than 16 years, and she was happiest surrounded by children.

Marsha was also an accomplished fabric artist, and has pieces in the NIPSCO and BP collections. She particularly loved working in silk and dyes, and her scarves, jackets and wall hangings are in homes throughout the region. She had been a board member of the Association of Artists and Craftsmen of Porter County, managed the construction of the teaching wing of the Chesterton Art Gallery building, was a supporter of the Chesterton Art Fair, a member of AAUW, and was a regular feature at Art Fair and Dune Acres summer events in a children’s booth, painting faces and giving children an opportunity to splash around in paints and colors.

Visitation is scheduled at White-Love Funeral Home, 525 South 2nd Street, Chesterton, Ind., from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 1.

Memorial service for family and close friends will be held Saturday, June 2, at 10 a.m. at White-Love Funeral Home.

Donations in lieu of flowers are asked to be made in Marsha’s name to the Chesterton Art Gallery.