On Tuesday August 31 after a long illness, we lost Marion Skilton - the First Lady of the Swans in both its South Melbourne and Sydney incarnations. She passed away peacefully with, as had been the case for over 60 years, Bobby at her side.
Marion was a beautiful person in every sense of the term.
Marion Joyce Stirling grew up in Port Melbourne as did Robert John Skilton. They met at a local dance at the St Joseph’s Carmelite Church Hall on the corner of Rouse and Stokes St, Port Melbourne in their teens. Marrying on 27th February 1960.
Little did they know that their closest of friends John and Val Heriot had also locked in the same date to tie the knot. It would the first of a number of amazing coincidences between the two couples. Apparently both Bob and John had convinced their respective wives to be, it would be a wonderful time of the year for a wedding. When the truth was it was the only weekend when the cricket finals had finished and footy training hadn’t officially started. The only problem was they hadn’t compared notes.
Marion and Bobby would then spend more than 60 years together. As their granddaughter Bec says “they took on the world as a team, each thriving because the other existed.”
“Powerhouses in their own right, they were two halves of a very loud, social, sun-loving, one-eyed South Melbourne, whole.”
Marion became a footballer’s wife at a time when the game didn’t provide the financial rewards that today’s players receive, and players’ partners were pretty much taken for granted by the football system. Notwithstanding that Marion committed herself to unfalteringly supporting her husband to be the best player he could be. As brilliant, determined and resilient an athlete as Bobby was, by his own acknowledgement “’I couldn’t have done a lot of it without her.”
In the early 1960s GTV-9 in Melbourne ran its Football Show on Sunday Mornings hosted by Tony Charlton. For a season or two it included a “Women’s Panel” featuring Glenys Mann (wife of Hassa) and Margaret Mitchell (wife of Hugh) and one Marion Skilton. All three were new to television but an article of the day says ”they are rapidly becoming personalities in their own right in the male oriented world of Melbourne football.” They were described as “forthright and controversial.” They were actually pioneers for women being treated with greater respect within the VFL system and more broadly. For instance they made it very clear that the lack of accommodation for visiting team’s wives and girlfriends wasn’t acceptable.
An excerpt from an article about the segment quotes Marion as saying ” Women know as much about the rules as men do….I don’t think my husband has read the rule book anyway.”
No one other than Bobby and Marion will ever know how dispiriting it must have been to be part of a club for so long and only play in one final. And it must have been tempting on occasions for multiple reasons to consider offers from more successful financially strong clubs. But that wasn’t their way.
The Skilton’s and Heriot’s moved into their new houses on the same day in November 1960 and these became known as the party houses along with the Burke and McGowan houses.
Marion had her first child Darren on the same day that Val had her second child Kaylene.
Away from football, Marion raised their three boys, Darren, Brett and Michael, and was the glue that held her family together following the tragic loss of Darren in 1982. She battled and won her fight against breast cancer in the late 2000s and would continue to support and care for Bobby as he continued to suffer the seemingly never-ending consequences of his playing days well into his 80s.
Later, she would continue to dedicate her life to her family, specifically her two grandchildren Bec and Jack; her constant love and support an unforgettable part of their childhood.
If it was for family, nothing was too much of an ask.
On behalf of the family Bec has said:
“The loss of Nan has left a hole in our lives that will never be filled, nor can it be summed up in just a few words. But as a family we remain grateful for the influence she has had and will continue to have on all of our lives”.
On behalf of everyone at the club, that’s champion player award is named in honour of her husband, our condolences to Marion’s immediate family. Her husband of 61 years Bobby; and her sons Brett and his wife Clara, and her beloved grandchildren Rebecca and Jack; and Michael and his partner Judy.
