Marlene Joyce Fletcher

Her parents, Philip R. and Velma B. (Fuller) Flanders welcomed their daughter October 29, 1931, at the Elliot Community Hospital in Keene. Marlene often told people that the witch delivered her by broomstick on her Halloween rounds.

In her youth, she was a member of Rainbow Girls As an adult she belonged to the American Legion Auxiliary.

When she was a young girl, her family lived on Dover Street. She used to roller skate past a “cute guy’s” house on Gurnsey St. They later met for real while both were working at Woolworth’s. James F. Fletcher, Jr and Marlene eloped on April 21, 1948, and were married for 67 years until his death in 2015.

Mom didn’t just get married in 1948; she became an instant and full-time mother to 4 very young children. She loved them as her own from day one and they loved her. Patti came along 2 years after they were married, and Tammy arrived 12 years later.

Money was tight in the beginning, but Mom knew how to make a little go along way. Together they raised six children and provided all the necessities and much love. They gradually moved from a cold water flat on Marlborough Street, to an apartment on Douglas Street, to owning their first house on Wilson Street, and then to the house on Vine Street where she has lived since 1968.

There are many words to describe Marlene: loving, selfless, kind, sweet, smiling, reliable, hardworking, friendly, caring, compassionate, practical, supportive, incredible, resilient, and a stubborn, depression-era Yankee. She and James were all about family; over the decades, they took in various family members – a sister, a nephew, both fathers, her mother, even her Uncle Chet - until he almost burned the house down.

Over the years, she worked at Woolworth’s and Cheshire Oil. Later she worked for the City of Keene, first in the Tax Office and then in the Finance Department, retiring after 25 years. After retirement, she volunteered at the Keene Senior Center and the Monadnock Humane Society.

At one time, she enjoyed knitting, ceramics and reading. As she lost her eyesight, she began listening to books on tape but that became difficult as her hearing worsened. She found losing her eyesight the hardest, but her family found the loss of her hearing the hardest - though there were some comical conversations as she misunderstood much of what was being said.

In the years since Dad died, she looked forward to an outing to the Dinner Table every Saturday night with Tammy, and especially when Patti, Jenny, Mike, Annalyn, Flynn, John and Noreen joined them.

Marlene is survived by her daughters, Patricia Spears and Tamala Fletcher of Keene; sons, John F. Fletcher, and his wife, Noreen of Marlborough, NH, James Fletcher of Wilson, NC and Thomas Fletcher of Cambridge, MA. In addition to her children, she is survived by 21 grandchildren, many, many great and great-great-grandchildren, her sister-in-law Rosemarie Flanders of Keene and several nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband and parents, she is predeceased by her brothers, Ronald Flanders and Philip Flanders; sister, Beverly Minott; daughter, Kathleen Degan; son-in-laws, James Degan and Joseph Spears; and two great-grandchildren, Karissia Ouellete and Craig Metivier.

Over the years, she was a dog mom and dog grandma to several dogs who were always devoted to her, and her favorite child, Mitzy the cat, survives her.

Most of her life Marlene did not follow an organized religion, but she was a woman of faith. She believed there is a God and that she would be reunited with the loved ones who have gone before her. Every night she thanked God for the day she had – no matter what kind of day she had, she thanked him for giving it to her and she asked if He would give her one more day. In her last days, she said that she had had a good long life.

We thank the wonderful staff of Cheshire Medical Center’s Thompson Unit for the skilled and compassionate care during her stay. Her family also thanks the nurses, aides, and social workers at Maplewood Nursing Home. They not only provided skilled and compassionate care to Marlene, but they were also very kind and compassionate to her family.

Family and friends are invited to call on Monday, February 12, 2024 from 4:00 to 6:00pm at the Foley Funeral Home, 49 Court Street, Keene. A funeral service will be held on Tuesday, February 13th at 11:00AM in St. James Episcopal Church, 44 West Street, Keene. Burial with committal prayers will follow the service in the Monadnock View Cemetery, Park Avenue, Keene.

In lieu of flowers donations in Mrs. Fletcher’s memory to the Monadnock Humane Society, 101 West Swanzey Road, West Swanzey, NH 03446; or to The Community Kitchen, PO Box 1315, Keene, NH 03431 are appreciated.