As University City residents Frank and Noriko Marshik turned the calendar to April, they once again remembered a lifetime ago, when Frank trained in boot camp to become a radio technician and Noriko donned a traditional kimono and resided in Tokyo with her family.
The Marshiks were chosen from 18 Classic Residence by Hyatt communities across the country to portray their lives then and now. An adjacent snapshot spotlights the beaming couple a half-century later, on Noriko’s 60th birthday. Frank hosted a surprise birthday party and shocked her by flying her family over from Japan, and inviting a preacher to renew their wedding vows.
Frank asserts that he’s learned “quite a bit” in his 38 years of marriage.
“I don’t think either one of us could find anyone that is more suited to our particular lifestyle,” Frank said. “We just enjoy being together, enjoy the things we do and we just do our thing.”
The Marshiks first met when Frank was running the sales office for M.W. Kellogg in Tokyo, working in Asia’s tallest building, the Kasumigaseki. He was invited to a party where he began to flirt with a stewardess, only to be pulled away by the hostess who informed him that Noriko was going home.
“I found out later that I was invited to meet Noriko but no one had told me,” Frank said.
In January of 1969, they married and began their life of travel. Frank calculated that he traveled more than 3 million miles while working for M.W. Kellogg. He joked that his wife saw the world while he became acquainted with international business centers and hotels.
After four-and-a-half years in Tokyo, the Marshiks moved to London for five years, lived in Los Angeles for a period of time and then settled in Houston until 2004.
“We have lived in high-rises ever since we got married,” Frank said. “In Houston ” where we lived for over 20 years ” we hardly knew anyone. We lived there but our life was outside the building. We’ve noticed here that you can have a big life inside the building; you can know everyone here if you want to.”
The Marshiks have found the Classic Residence teeming with interesting people and activities. Doctors, lawyers, retired military officers and past Nobel Prize winners are their neighbors. One gentleman is the past president of Rockefeller University, Frank said. Another knew all the scientists who developed the atom bomb. Archeologists, astronomers and doctors frequent the Residence to give presentations.
“It’s a very, very educated community,” Frank said.
Yoga and art classes engage Noriko, who is an artist. She was away in Japan when UC/Golden Triangle News spoke with Frank. Frank plays golf twice a week with friends.
Communal dining and numerous committees ” from financial oversight to the dining committee ” also engage the residents, Frank said.
The Classic Residence calendar began three years ago inspired by a wall of vintage photos at a community in Naples, Florida.
Frank suspects that they were chosen for the calendar to represent the internationalism at the Residence. Frank estimated that residents come from more than 17 countries and 40 states.
Classic Residence by Hyatt, 8515 Costa Verde Blvd., offers luxury senior living with assisted living if needed. For more information call (858) 646 7745 or visit www.hyattclassic.com/go/communities/sandiego.