Marsha Friberg Shinkman, former assistant director of Stanford in Washington, dead at 69

Marsha Friberg Shinkman, a former assistant director of the Bing Stanford in Washington program, died March 19 at her home in Bethesda, Md., of complications from type 1 diabetes. She was 69.

Marsha Friberg Shinkman was remembered as a bubbly person who had a nice relationship with the students she advised. (Image credit: Courtesy Shinkman Family)

At Stanford, Shinkman served as director of the Music Guild – now known as Friends of Music at Stanford – and served for about a decade as assistant director of the Stanford in Washington Program.

“Marsha was a great, bubbly person, very outgoing and nice,” said Adrienne Jamieson, director of what is now the Bing Stanford in Washington program. “A lot of students remember her fondly. She organized field trips and cultural events, and served as an adviser to students on general life in Washington. She had very nice relationships with the students.”

After leaving the program, Shinkman became alumni director at George Washington University Law School and later served as associate director of the Webster University campus at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.

She was co-chair of the Washington, D.C.-area Stanford Parents Committee when then-President Bill Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, decided to enroll at the university. In 1997, Shinkman told USA Today one thing the Clintons could expect after separating from their daughter: “Their phone bill will definitely go up.”

Even after leaving Stanford, Shinkman maintained her ties to the university. In 2010, she and her husband, Christopher J. Shinkman, were among the co-chairs of the Leading Matters event in Washington, D.C. Leading Matters, which concluded in 2011, was a series of inspirational events held in 19 cities around the world to showcase how Stanford was addressing many of the world’s most pressing issues.

Shinkman was an active volunteer in Washington, D.C., and supported the Shakespeare Theatre, the Kennedy Center and the National Cathedral.

A native of Jamestown, N.Y., Shinkman earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1965 at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa., and a master’s degree in English from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.

She began her 47-year career in education as an elementary school teacher at public schools in Pennsylvania and New York. Later, she worked as public relations director at the American School for the Deaf and as director of the Public Schools Cultural Council, both located in West Hartford, Conn.

In addition to her husband, Christopher, of Bethesda, Md., Shinkman is survived by her mother, Ebba Friberg of Jamestown, N.Y.; two children, Matthew Shinkman of Oakton, Va., and Elizabeth A. Carter of Takoma Park, Md.; four grandchildren, John Shinkman, Ebba Shinkman, Benjamin Carter and Brett Carter; and sister, Kathleen Anderson of Wilmette, Ill.

A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. March 31 at the Church of the Epiphany, located at 1317 G St. NW in Washington, D.C. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Shinkman’s memory to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

An online guest book has been established for friends to share memories or express their condolences at Dignity Memorial.