John Edumund MarrJohn Marr was born in Cold Spring, New York, on August 30, 1906,the third of five children born to Mary Frances McKenna and John Henry Marr. His sister, Anne McGovern, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, survives him. After completing grade school at St. Leo Grammar School, Irvington, New York, he did high school studies at Seton Hall Prep and Maryknoll Preparatory College, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Two years of college at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island, preceded his entry into the novitiate at St. Rose Priory, Springfield, Kentucky, in August of 1927. Following his first profession of vows there on August 16,1928, he was sent to the Dominican House of Studies in River Forest, Illinois, where he received his A.B. degree. His ordination to the priesthood on June 14, 1934, followed theological studies at Somerset, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. After ordination he undertook further theological studies at the Angelicum in Rome, where he received the S.T.L. and the S.T.Lr. Conferral of the S.T.D. by the University of Fribourg in 1937 completed his formal theological studies.

Following these studies Father Marr returned to the House of Studies in River Forest to teach philosophy and theology, a position he held until 1952. During his years at the house of Studies he also taught philosophy at De Paul University and served as Assistant Student Master in the Province. In 1946, his Dominican brothers elected him Prior of the House of Studies. Upon the completion of two terms as Prior he was appointed Pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in New Orleans, where he also served as Prior.

As a testimony to his years of teaching, the Dominican Order in 1952 conferred on him its highest theological honor, the degree of Master in Sacred Theology. Honorary degrees from Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa, and St. Xavier College, Chicago, Illinois, were a further tribute to his efforts to advance Catholic higher education.

In 1956, the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great chose him as Provincial, a position he held for eight years. Following this he returned to parochial ministry as associate pastor at St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in River Forest, Illinois. He also served as regional director of the St. Thomas Aquinas Foundation (STAF), in which position he helped provide support for the efforts of scholars working to complete the Leonine Edition, a critical text of the works of St. Thomas Aquinas. As he grew older Father Marr's ministry focused on the needs of the elderly, both within his Province and for those who lived in nursing homes. He served his Province as the Director of the Dominican Retirement Fund.

Each Sunday he celebrated the Eucharist for the residents of Woodbine Nursing Home.

On April 3, 1992, Father Marr suffered a severe stroke. After several weeks in Oak Park Hospital he was moved to St. Patrick's Home, Naperville, Illinois, where he died on May 29, 1992. After a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at St. Thomas Aquinas Priory, River Forest, he was buried in the Dominican plot at All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines, Illinois.