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Obituary

A legacy between two slices of bread

Marian's Sub Shop serves only one sandwich, an Italian sub with salami and ham. That's all Marian Sumner needed to become a local institution.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published September 23, 2005

Marian H. Sumner, 1927-2005

RUSKIN - Marian Sumner built a successful career from a single sandwich.

In fact, that sandwich, and the shop where she served it, made Ms. Sumner a Ruskin institution.

"Everyone knew Marian, and everyone knew Marian's Sandwich Shop," said her son, Joe Sumner II. "Everyone still does."

Ms. Sumner was 78 when she died Sept. 2 of a heart attack and a stroke. Her health had been declining in recent months, but she kept working at Marian's Sub Shop on U.S. 41 and College Avenue S until almost the end of her life.

The shop serves only one sandwich, an Italian sub with salami and ham. But over the decades the shop and its owner became a Ruskin landmark.

Marian's Sub Shop opened in 1967, at a time when Ruskin was a rural area.

Ms. Sumner knew the area well. She was the third generation of her family to be brought up in Ruskin. Her father, a commercial fisherman who worked the little Manatee River, died young. Ms. Sumner's mother supported the family of four by taking in laundry while the kids dug up clams on the riverbank.

She married Joe Sumner, who came from a family that had lived in the Boyette area for five generations.

"She only stayed married for two years," her son said. "She never remarried. She was a beautiful woman and very much sought-after, even in her later years. But she was just too independent, I guess."

Ms. Sumner and her ex-husband remained friendly, but she ended up being the one primarily responsible for raising their son, he said.

She tried a variety of careers, including working as a nurse in a Tampa doctor's office.

Her fishing heritage apparently never left her. She entered a tarpon fishing tournament with her employer in 1956, and she caught a 142-pound tarpon. It turned out to be the largest one caught, and she took home a huge amount of money at that time, $7,000, and a brand-new 1956 Chevy.

She opened the sub shop to support herself and her young son.

She arrived at work at 7:30 every morning and stayed until the shop closed at 8 p.m. On Sundays, she did the cleaning.

"That's really all she did, was work," he said.

Although she was practical and business-oriented, Ms. Sumner had a bright personality and enjoyed being around people.

"For 25 years, she was the only one who worked there," her son said. "She was her only employee. She liked to have her fun when she had time, but basically she had her fun at the sandwich shop."

Ms. Sumner is survived by her son and five grandchildren.

[Last modified September 22, 2005, 10:20:06]