Correction: An earlier version of this article misattributed quotes from Paula Colby-Clements. Andover News regrets the error.
Joanne Marden, who served on the Andover Finance Committee for 39 years, at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver Saturday. She was 76.
Details of the cause of death and funeral arrangements were not immediately available Thursday morning.
Marden moved to Colorado in the fall of 2017 to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren. She is the all-time longest serving member of the finance committee after being appointed by then-Town Moderator Jim Doherty in 1978.
“Joanne served what Grace and dignity. She was balanced and measured and she was fair and unbiased in her assessment of the town budgets,” Finance Committee Chair Paula Colby-Clements said. “When there were budget disputes, she always tried to find common ground. She was a citizen that served selflessly and always thought to do the best thing for the citizens of Andover.”
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Danisch’s comments came during Wednesday’s tri-board meeting of the select board, school committee and finance committee.
“It’s fitting to take a moment and remember Joanne as she was instrumental in starting the tri-board concept, believing that getting everyone around the table was the best way to solve problems,” Colby-Clements said before asking for a moment of silence.
Marden and her husband, Reginald Marden, moved to Andover in 1973. She graduated from Brown University with a degree in economics. Marden tried to resign from the finance committee in 1994 after her 16-year-old son Christopher and Reginald were killed in a plane crash, but Doherty urged her to stay.
“I just believe that good decisions are made when people understand how the whole system works,” Marden told the Andover Townsman in 2017. “If they’re well-informed, you’re going to get a good decision.”