Fierce about what she felt was right

To the Editor:

We have lost one of the most caring, thoughtful people due to COVID-19. Anita Marrone was always a pleasure to be around. She was thoughtful, funny, and most empathetic. For 29 years she and Andy would go to the town board meetings to find out and monitor what they were doing.

When we moved here and met her, we were impressed by how she brought a broad knowledge to a subject. Working with her concerning the town, I came to see what a powerful mind she had.

She could tell, from very few clues, what was going to cause a problem. Sometimes she couldn’t even put a name to it; it was too early to tell what the problem would be. But she always could sense something wasn’t right.

She was the go-to person for me when I couldn’t understand what was going on. Why would they do something like that? She always knew. She was staunchly loyal.

My own experience when I learned this was many years ago at the town park. It was a GOP caucus and my panel had recommended two Democrats to be put on the Republican line for town justice (Kenny and Bob were and still are wonderful judges).

A woman running for a GOP office and her friend stood up front and started to give me a bad time about this. I was stunned that they would speak to me like that. Anita stood up and verbally swatted them. She took no prisoners. I was very grateful.

That was the beginning of my seeing how fierce she was about what she felt was right. When our group  would have planning sessions about what was going on in town, I would always ask Anita about the subject and was there anything else we were not thinking about.

Her understanding and insight were in the clouds. I will miss her.

Bonnie Laub

Westerlo

Editor’s note: Bonnie Laub formerly chaired Westerlo’s Republican Committee.

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