Marcia Dolan

Marcia McLachlan Dolan, 82, of New Milford passed away peacefully on Saturday, February 18, 2023. Marcia was born in Danbury, on September 12, 1940, the only daughter of the late Alice Keane McLachlan and James Donald McLachlan.

Marcia's family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, where she spent her younger years and developed a passion for the ocean and the great outdoors. When she was 18 years old, she started taking golf lessons. In her own words, "My golf was a challenge to my inner self, as the game itself fascinated me with awe and great respect. I was given God's gift to be able to play and succeed at it. My dad said I would never break 90, and I hope that he enjoyed looking down and getting a kick out of another McLachlan that could play." On December 4, 1958, she broke 90, ten days before her father passed away.

Marcia won a record-tying 10 Connecticut Women's Golf Association titles. She also won three Connecticut State Women's Amateur Championships, three New England Women's Amateur Championships, three Hartford Times Tournament of Champions, two International Four-Ball Championships, the Women's North and South Amateur Championship, the Florida Women's Amateur Championship, three Endicott Crowns, and the Women's Club Championship at Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury 13 times.

In 1962, she qualified for the U.S. Amateur and won two matches. Marcia was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 1976. She ranked fourth in the country among female amateurs by Golf Digest in 1977 and qualified for the U.S. Open at Hazeltine, Minnesota the same year. In 1978, she was named an alternate to the U.S. Curtis Cup team. She received the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance's highest honor, the Gold Key, in 1987. She was an active member of Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury for many decades and an honorary member until the time of her death.

Marcia and her husband, Bernie, purchased the Connecticut Golf Center in New Milford. They also leased a driving range in Southington for five years where Marcia gave golf lessons, joining the LPGA Teaching Division. She also became a teaching pro at the Country Club of Farmington under John Murphy.

In the late 1990s, Marcia was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and underwent numerous chemotherapy treatments, eventually going into remission after a stem cell transplant. Despite her health struggles, Marcia remained an avid fan of many sports, following the New York Giants, New York Yankees, her beloved Georgetown Hoyas, and stock car driver, Corky Cookman. She was a staple at many Immaculate High School basketball games and homecoming parades. She also loved vacationing at Cape Cod.

Most significantly, Marcia was mother to Debbie, Pam, and Karen. She was everyone's mom. The house on Deer Hill Drive had an open-door policy, and there was year-round swimming, shooting hoops in the driveway, and food, food, and more food – especially her famous chicken salad!

Marcia always had a smile on her face and had a deep commitment to helping others. She was unapologetically and authentically herself at all times. She was a survivor, a champion, and a mentor whose life touched so many others in her community.

Marcia is survived by daughter, Pamela Dolan-Spiewak, son-in-law, Craig Spiewak, granddaughters, Paige and Allison Spiewak, and her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Parker McLachlan.

She was predeceased by her husband, Bernard Joseph Dolan, Jr., daughters Deborah Ann Dolan and Karen Keane Dolan, and her brothers James Stuart McLachlan and Donald Keane McLachlan.

There will be no calling hours, and the interment will be private.

Arrangements by the Green Funeral Home, 57 Main Street, Danbury, CT.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that "you treat yourself to something nice."