Marcia Ann Molay

Mrs. Molay was born in the Bronx and attended NYU. She was active in the League of Women Voters and devoted many years to working in state government.

Moving to Massachusetts in 1960, she joined the League of Women Voters. She worked tirelessly to reduce the size of the Massachusetts Legislature in 1969. In 1972 she became the director of the Lotte E. Scharfman Voter Information Service, created to educate the public about the workings of government. Through the Service, she taught courses for businesses on “how government works”.

In 1974 she was appointed a deputy secretary of state by Paul Guzzi and served as Director of Elections for the Commonwealth. She was responsible for making Information for Voters, the required red book, more readable. Later she worked for Paul Levy at the Department of Public Utilities and then became second in command at MWRA when Mr. Levy assumed leadership there in 1987.

After leaving state government, she became the executive director of Historic Massachusetts Inc., a group dedicated to the preservation of historic places and buildings in the state. This led to her directorship of the Community Preservation Coalition, a group to promote the passage of the Community Preservation Enabling Act.

For many years she was the moderator of the candidates' night sponsored by the Hamilton-Wenham League of Women Voters. She also served on the boards of the Wenham Housing Authority and Friends of Hamilton-Wenham Public Library.

Upon her retirement, she became a docent at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem where she loved leading tours of the latest exhibits and through the Ying Yu Tan House. She also became an accomplished poet, winning prizes in poetry contests across the country.

She was predeceased by her husband Ira and is survived by her children: Bruce Molay of Cambridge, Seth Molay and his wife Hilary of Dallas, and Francine Molay of Wenham as well as grandchildren Jennifer and David. She is also survived by her brother Ira Silverman and his family.

Arrangements: the funeral will be held at Brooksby Village chapel on Monday, June 26th, at 1:00 pm. Donations may be made to the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem or the Massachusetts League of Women Voters.