KENNEDY, Margaret A. “Marge/Mudge”
Of Acton, died peacefully at home on December 28, 2022. She was born on October 28, 1934, in Madison, Wisconsin, to Edwin and Ann (Swain) Kennedy and grew up in Madison and Englewood, New Jersey. She was a 1956 graduate of Wilson College and received her M.S.ED from the Bank Street College of Education.
She taught and directed early childhood education programs for 30 years in New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, coauthoring two books along the way; Experience and Art: Teaching Children to Paint (second edition) and Observation Drawing with Children.
Marge was twice married and divorced, living in the New York City area before moving to Shutesbury, MA; New London, NH; and Medford, MA. Since 1999, she has lived in Acton, MA, sharing a two-family house with her son and family. Through her words and deeds, Marge sought to make the world a better place. A small sample of the organizations she was active in include the Ecumenical Task Force on AIDS, the United Way of Acton-Boxborough, which recognized her as the 2014 Volunteer of the Year, and the League of Women Voters-Acton Area, where she was a long-standing member of the steering committee and served as co-president in 2008-2009. Marge’s recitation of her original doggerel summarizing the year’s accomplishments in verse at the League’s Annual Meetings was always a highlight and will be sorely missed. She was also involved in many other social justice initiatives in town: No Place for Hate, Domestic Violence Services Network, and Housing for All Acton.
When she wasn’t volunteering or tending to her grandchildren, Marge enjoyed aqua-aerobics with her longtime buddies, opera on WGBH on Saturday afternoons, NY Times puzzles of all kinds, a good book, and spending time with family and friends at the family Camp in the Adirondacks, where she spent 87 summers.
She is survived by her sister, Jean Holloway, and her husband, Richard, of Edinburgh, Scotland; her son, Stephen Long, and his wife, Joanne Bissetta; and three grandchildren, William Long, Nicholas Long, and Samantha Long. Also survived by many cousins, nieces, nephews, and beloved friends.
Funeral Services will be held at the Church of Good Shepherd, 164 Newtown Road, Acton, MA, January 28 at 10 am. There will be a reception for family and friends after services at the church. At Marge‘s request, attendees are encouraged to wear “bright and cheerful clothing.” Those wishing to make a contribution in Marge’s honor can be made to the Friends of Acton Nursing Service at www. actonnursingservice.com or the United Way of Acton-Boxborough at www.abuw.org For an online guestbook, please visit www.actonfuneralhome.com