Franz, Marian Claassen (1930-2006)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2006 Dec 4 p. 1, 3

Birth date: 1930

text of obituary:

Peace-tax campaign leader dies

By MCC Washington Office and MWR staff

WASHINGTON — Marian Franz, a witness for peace in the halls of power as leader of a movement to extend conscientious objection to the payment of war taxes, died Nov. 17 after a two-year struggle with cancer. She was 76.

Franz directed the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund for 24 years, beginning in 1982. As a lobbyist, she called upon members of Congress to pass legislation allowing conscientious objectors to pay all of their taxes without funding the military.

She stepped down from the directorship in January to dedicate herself full-time to fighting an aggressive, recurring cancer.

Establishment of a peace-tax fund remains unfulfilled, but Franz believed no witness for peace and conscience is ever lost.

"Marian was a tireless voice for religious freedom and the rights of people of conscience," said Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. "Her energy and persistence in advocating for the Religious Freedom Peace Tax Fund was a reflection of her deep commitment to our democracy and to the cause of peace."

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.,called Franz, "a longtime and effective advocate for peace and human rights. She believed in the dignity of every human being, and that's how she treated everyone she met."