Marian Fenwick, the first woman mayor of Hillsborough Township, died Monday evening at the University Medical Center of Princeton.
She was a few days shy of her 85th birthday of June 15, “and she was the sharpest she could be right up to the end,” said her daughter, also Marian, on Wednesday.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Holcombe Fisher Funeral Home on Main Street in Flemington. Viewing hours will be from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, with the funeral on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Clover Hill Reformed Church. Burial will follow at Neshanic Cemetery.
Mrs. Fenwick, a nurse by vocation, was elected to a three-year in 1969, and took office as the first woman on the Township Committee in January 1970. In 1972 the committee chose her as the year’s mayor.
Mrs. Fenwick was a woman of firsts. She served two terms on the Board of Education, overlapping for a time her tenure on the Township Committee — something no longer allowed. She was also the first and only woman to serve on the Municipal Utilities Authority, and founding member and president of the Hillsborough Historical Society.
She is survived by three daughters: Marian of Hillsborough, Karen Zitz of Virginia, and Robin Bernard of Hillsborough.
An announcement of her death, followed by a moment of silence, was made at Tuesday’s Township Committee meeting.
“She was dedicated to the town,” said Township Committeeman Carl Suraci. “There wasn’t a cause or issue that would benefit the town that she wouldn’t pursue.”
