Alma "Jill" Marquis

Alma F. Marquis, age 94, of Stoneham, died February 4, 2017, following a lengthy decline at Wingate in Reading. She was the wife of the late Theodore Marquis with whom she had shared 45 years of marriage.
Alma began her life in California and spent most of her early years in Oregon before moving to Boston. Sometime in childhood she acquired the nickname Jill because of her brother Jack and the nursery rhyme “Jack and Jill”. Alma, or Jill, graduated from Girls’ High School and worked at a variety of jobs in Boston before marrying the love of her life, Ted, who soon left to serve with the Navy in Africa during WWII. Upon his return, the couple eventually settled in Stoneham in an old house at the end of Spring Lane where they raised their three children. Jill spent almost her entire adult life residing on “The Lane” which she cherished. She eventually went to work in food service for the Stoneham School System. She loved her work there and enjoyed her daily contact with the students.
Jill was a longtime member of the Stoneham Unitarian Universalist Church and was one of the remaining members when the church made the difficult decision to disband. She was also active in Girl Scouts for some years, loved the library, attended Town Meetings until her health failed and truly loved the Town of Stoneham. She enjoyed reading and going to garage sales where her rallying cry was, “You can’t go wrong for a quarter!”
In her final years, many friends and neighbors on The Lane helped Jill age in place and remain in her home as long as possible. The family is very grateful for their loving and generous support.
She was the mother of Noel, Janine and the late Sandra; the grandmother of Paul, Keith, Michelle, Nicole, Allison and James and great grandmother of Casey, Nicholas, Bryanna, Kayle, Nicholas, Asher and Ari. She was pre-deceased by her brother Jack. Alma lived a full and loving life and will be greatly missed by those close to her.
A memorial celebration will be held 11AM-1PM, Saturday, February 20th on Jill’s birthday, with a service at 12:30 at Anderson-Bryant Funeral Home, 4 Common St., Stoneham.