MOTHER WAS AGENT FOR CIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00001R000300050009-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 4, 1999
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: June 6, 1967
• Content Type: NSPR

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The To,,~-:: Tr'Iking ,T
_ _
Ur T othe i
r was a spy.
_, for ' CIA .
Mother Was Agent
t rs. Marjorie raycra , 45, 01 391U
Randolph lane, Withamsville, says she is
"not interested" in accepting a full-time
job with the Central Intelligence Agency
in Washington.
She presents part of a letter as proof
the job was offered, and she has no hegi-"
tancy in saying she has worked in Cincin
nati for CIA the past 20-odd years.. ' CIA,
by law, cannot confirm or deny the identity
of any agent. "?.
"I'm going to lead a calm,' dull ' life
from now on," she said.
Marjorie is known as a music -teacher
piano, accordion, violin, mandolin. Her hus-
band, Leroy, is a carpenter-contractor. They
had five sons, 'one of whom, Kenneth, was
killed by accident in the Navy.
None of the children ever,knew about;,
their mother. Until now.
"IT STARTED when Leroy went into
the Army engineers in WW II," she said.
"I had two little boys (Terry, now 25, and
X91111tri11) and wo Moved Into all apllrtmQnt
611 Ballard dvelitie in Oakley. , Living in
the same building were three Russians sup-
posedly here to buy machine tools."
Everybody was being nice to'these Rus:Y
sians, who were allies then. Ivan, the boss,,.,
played a mandolin. Marjorie played a man
dolin better. The Russians and Marjorie
became friendly.
"Ivan was short and fat and friendly,
and he and the others always talked about".
how they loved this country," she said.;`
'But they had cameras, always cameras,'
and stacks and stacks of papers, you have
no idea." 1 .1
.A One 'day, Marjorie, by this time a fah-
miliar neighbor; saw "a paper I was pretty
- sure I wasn't supposed to see'." ' She took
it, and some other papers as samples of',
what the Russians were doing, and sent
them to Washington.
"I got word 'back right away that the
government already knew about Ivan and r
Sasha and Gnatti," she said. "And they
asked me to help watch. Iliad a car' and
I began driving? the. Russians around to
' where'thcy wanted to visit. I helped them'I
,:learn English. At. the same time, I began
studying liussian with recordings. It didn't' i
:take long until?Lknew what they were talk.
CPYRGHT
ni Rnnn~nnncnnna_1
was my decision-that be could find some-
1lavbe someday I can tell you everything
that. happened, and the people investigation
ed us to. it was all fascinating to me, but
is over."
Carl. mystified. fingered through the
Id photographs and records, and said "I
ever heard any of this before."
But then, Carl didn't believe liis mother
ver flew a plane, either, until she pulled
ut a Withrow High annual and. showed
irst flying club.
Maybe 'it's- mostly 'Mother's. word she
as a spy, but. she has considerable evi-
ence to prove It. ; .,7 ",
"I. would get a phone call or a letteri
giving me information on where to go and;
whom to see. I'm just a:typical housewife,
and there must he thousands like me. I'
wal~t, and looked, and triad my beat to geti''
the ' information desired, and reported;
back."
It wasn't quite that easy. Marjorie says,
she"was warned she- was "on my own ii .
something happened, and I'd have to take.;i
the blame:" - Very, very selddm did she.'a
ever meet another agent. I
"I. went to Union Terminal one night-
in 1956, I think-and met him;" she said.
."AS AVE CAME OUT, an auto tried to
run us down," 'she said. - "The agent threw
me out of the way and jumped, It really.'
was close, and it was deliberate. Yes, C1A;
knows who was driving. the car."
Marjorie says' her husband knew what'
she also told ipr;pastor!and a ier?insurance,r
man, who is a',,close'friend,'just so' "some
body would know who, what; why and how"'?
in case' something ?halipened to her.
Only 'way all!this,turned up was because
Alarjori~''was,joktng about "family promo'
ionsit and'inentioned the offer of full-time_t
CIA work.:;': Terry; the oldest. just Jias been
prom. oted.'to head of research for Arvin
requency'.Devices in Lafayette, Ind.; and r;
is designing space equipment for NASA.
MARJORIE CONFESSES she felt iafionl accepted: for the 'Ford Council in
tremely foolish-like. maybe , all the sus-.1 utomotlde design at Purdue University.
picions were-only in my head," when she "I sort of lost interest (in?the CIA work)."
first sent word to Washington; But in 1946; fter Terry was killed by' a.trick near'his
all three 'Russians suddenly' were "sent avy base irk New. Jersey,! she said.. That'
back" to .11-loscowN, hAMA,~:.c,;^, vas a trifle over' thiee,.,',ears;ago, and .she'
said, thumbing through stacks of snapshots
with foreign names on the backs. 'Ivan
housewife; mother,' and give music les-.,'
ons
"THAT S '1VFIY' I w4-S` SURI';iISED
,vlhen,the last Washington offer came just
,o a volunteer, a tl otY,lk gltlgti ~ j ,e!
uaid what she, d~~ ~tb~k 09f1 4
Marjorie said almost all her work teas
F jt ~ncgrked' like ;ltis- "t
R000300050009-1
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