Beatrice Place Marden

Beatrice Place Marden of York, Maine, formerly of Fairfield, Connecticut, died peacefully on Sunday, August 9, 2015 at her home. She was born on Feb. 2, 1922 in Bridgeport, CT to Marion Grace McKeon and Frank Joseph Place. After graduating from Warren Harding High School, Bea worked as a secretary before joining the US Marine Corps Women's Reserve. She spent most of her two years of active duty supporting pilot training on the Link Trainer flight simulator. Following the war, Bea attended the University of Bridgeport, earning degrees in mathematics and education. She met and married William Walker Marden Jr. in 1948, and they made their home in Fairfield, CT, where they raised six children. In 2004, Bea and Bill moved full-time to their summer home in York Maine. They were married for 58 years until his death in 2006. Bea was a math teacher in the Fairfield Public School system before earning a master's degree in library science in 1973 from Southern Connecticut State University. She then worked as a school librarian until her retirement in 1981. Following her retirement, Bea was involved in a number of volunteer activities. In Connecticut, she served for 15 years as a registrar for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross, earning the Volunteer of the Year Award for the Fairfield County Chapter in 1991. Bea worked for the Connecticut Braille Association, typing textbooks so that they could be converted to braille for visually impaired students. She made quilts for Project Linus, an organization that donates handmade quilts to comfort seriously ill children. Following her move to York, she volunteered at the York Public Library. During the past 9 years, she was a regular volunteer at York Hospital, her favorite volunteer experience of all. She was an active supporter of the Maine Alzheimer's Association, participating in the Memory Walk for many years and attending support groups. She was an avid reader throughout her life and loved word puzzles of all kinds. Bea was pre-deceased by her husband and a son, Jonathan Place Marden. She is survived by her children Delphine Marden Reich and her husband William F. Reich of Alachua, FL; William Walker Marden III and his wife Anne A. Tarbell of New York City; Elizabeth Marden Marshall and her husband Matthew Marshall of Etna, NH; Sally Marden Natale of Tucson, AZ; and Stacey Katherine Marden and her husband Steven E. Cook of Sudbury, MA. She is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Bea's family is grateful for her many friends in York who have made her feel so welcome in the community and to the wonderful caregivers from York Hospital Hospice. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bea's memory can be made to York (Maine) Hospital Hospice or the York (Maine) Public Library. Friends may call Friday, August 14, 2015 from 12 noon to 1:00 PM in the Spear-Miller Funeral Home, 39 S Benson Rd., Fairfield, CT. with interment to follow in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Fairfield.