17. Margaret7
Bretherick (
Biography:
Mrs. Towne was born in Holyoke in 1904 to Walter Hartog and Margaret Bretherick. She attended the Holyoke public school system and graduated from Wheelock College in Boston, MA in 1926. In her honor the alma mater established the Marion Hartog Towne Fund for the Arts in 1970 to open new educational departments in art, music, theater, and cultural studies. She married Richard P. Towne in 1929, with whom she had a son, Richard P. Towne Jr., and a daughter, Margaret T. (Towne) Dalbert. William Dwight, Sr. was quoted in the Holyoke Transcript-Telegram: You found [Marion] everywhere in the leadership of good causes.
Marion H. Towne, Holyoke civic leader: Newspaper Obituary and Death Notice
Union-News (Springfield, MA) - February 9, 1993
Deceased Name: Marion H. Towne, Holyoke civic leader
Marion H. (Hartog) Towne, 88, of 31 Steiger Road, a local civic leader, died on Saturday at home. Born and schooled here, she was a 1926 graduate of Wheelock College in Boston, where she majored in early childhood education. She taught elementary grade classes at a private school in New York City until her marriage in 1929. She was the widow of Richard P. Towne, the retired chairman and chief executive of National Blankbook Co. (now Avery-Dennison Stationery Co.). After her marriage, Mrs. Towne was a community volunteer with several organizations in Holyoke. She was president of the Junior Service Corps, a predecessor of the Junior League. During the 1940s, she was a member of the Children's Aid Society, and the Holyoke Hospital Aid Association. She performed in amateur productions of the association in the late 1940s. She was also a member of the Holyoke Arts Club and the Thursday Club, and sang in the choir at Second Congregational Church. She and her husband formerly lived on Sycamore Street, where they were popular hosts. The property is now the rectory of Holy Cross Church. She leaves a son, Richard P. Jr. of South Hadley; a daughter, Margaret T. (Towne) Dalbert of New York City and Sarasota, Fla.; two stepsisters, Pauline Van Emberg of Hemingway, S.C., and Viola (King) Bryant of Burlingame, Calif., and five grandchildren. A memorial service will be conducted Saturday afternoon in Second Congregational Church. Edward F. Day Funeral Home is in charge, and there are no calling hours. Memorial contributions may be made to the United Way of Holyoke, South Hadley and Granby; the Mount Holyoke College Musicordia, or the Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association Inc.
Send email to Ross D. Andrews: vtandrew@erols.com
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