Marie Maxon Hadwen

1930 - 2020

Marie Leona Maxon Hadwen died in Fort Myers, Florida on February 5, 2020 at the age of 89. Marie died surrounded by family and friends after a protracted bout with cancer.

Marie was born September 8, 1930 in North Bennington, Vermont. She graduated from North Bennington High School in 1947, and received a full scholarship to Bennington College where she attended for one year. She subsequently studied business at a local community college.

Marie met her husband of 58 years, George Hadwen, in Bennington. They married on September 3, 1951. In the late 1950s, they founded The Pennysaver Press and Hadwen Inc., a newspaper and printing business in Bennington. Marie and George worked together managing their business for almost 30 years.

Marie served for a number of years on the boards of Bennington College and The Bennington Museum, and as Treasurer of the Village of Old Bennington. She was a lifelong contributor to the Museum and donated the land to establish the Hadwen Woods preserve behind the Museum. She also served on the Board of Trustees of the Helene Toolan Cancer Institute (now the Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center).

Marie and George raised three daughters, Wendy, Jan and Brooke. The family lived in Bennington and Old Bennington. They spent many happy hours fishing, snowmobiling, birding and otherwise enjoying the outdoors around Bennington and at camps on Woodford Mountain and at Cedar Beach in Charlotte on Lake Champlain.

Marie was a great mom, setting high standards for her daughters. She excelled at almost everything she did. In addition to running a successful business, she was a gourmet cook, a master gardener, a skilled knitter and seamstress, and an expert bridge player. Marie valued education, taking classes throughout her life in a variety of subjects. Marie and George funded educational scholarships, including the Hadwen Communications Award and the Hadwen Guides program at St. Lawrence University. In her later years, Marie volunteered at the Mt. Independence archaeological dig in Vermont and as a librarian at Shell Point.

Marie and George traveled all over the world. They played People-to-People tennis in Russia, Finland, Australia and New Zealand, took bird-watching trips to Africa and Costa Rica, and explored South America by cargo freighter. They retired to Florida in the mid 1980s, first residing on Sanibel Island and more recently in Fort Myers. Marie and George moved into the Shell Point Retirement Community approximately 15 years ago.

Marie's husband George and her three younger siblings, Catherine Morin, Lillian Robinson and Robert Maxon, have predeceased her. She is survived by her three daughters, Wendy Hadwen Schroeder, Jan Hadwen Hubbell and Brooke Arlene Hadwen, and their spouses, Bill Schroeder, Bob Hubbell and Pat Burns. She has five grandchildren: John Henry Schroeder (Catherine Zung Schroeder), Susie Schroeder (Matthew Perry), Chelsea Hubbell (Paul Williams), Whitney Hubbell and Drew Ransom, and one great-grandson, Ethan Williams.

Marie's family is very grateful for the end-of-life care that she received from Hope Hospice. Memorial services for Marie will be held this Spring at Shell Point, and in Vermont this Summer.