Jeanne Marquardo honored for 50th Golden Anniversary at Malden High School

Present Administrative Assistant for Athletic Dept. has been serving students since 1970s

By Steve Freker

She is not an easy person to surprise, that’s for sure! That is what happens when you have been an employee at the same place for a lot of years. Malden High School’s Jeanne Marquardo was indeed surprised; however, when a group of over 40 of her colleagues and some local city and school dignitaries got together in The Gallery at MHS for a late afternoon gathering to commemorate half a decade of employment at the school.

Marquardo has been serving students and staff at MHS as part of the Malden Public Schools since 1972, the year she graduated from the very high school where she still works. She started working fresh out of high school as a secretary in various assistant principals’ offices, after two years as a student assistant to the secretaries in the office of the late, legendary Malden High Principal Arthur P. Boyle. Marquardo has been a mainstay ever since, for most of the past decade, as an administrative assistant to ninth-year Director of Physical Education and Athletics Charlie Conefrey.

Conefrey organized a recognition gathering for Jeanne’s 50th Anniversary of employment and said the toughest part was making it a surprise luncheon. “Jeanne knows everything that is going on, all the time,” said Conefrey. “It was no small task trying to keep it a secret, but we did.”

Attending the big event was Malden Superintendent of Schools Dr. Ligia Noriega-Murphy and Malden Mayor Gary Christenson, among many others.

“Jeanne [Marquardo] has done an amazing job here at Malden High School for all of the 50 years she has been serving the district, and we are so grateful for all her contributions,” Supt. Dr. Noriega-Murphy said at the event.

Mayor Christenson presented Jeanne with an official city citation commemorating her Golden 50 years of service. “We commend Jeanne Marquardo for all her years of service. It is rare but so appreciated when we have people like Jeanne serving the Malden community and Malden High School so well,” the Mayor said.

Conefrey got right to the point when he spoke of Jeanne to those gathered. “We just could not run our athletic department without her,” he said. “I’m sure Jeanne gets asked a lot how many more years she will be working, but I always say wherever she goes, I am going there, too!”

For her part, Jeanne says working with the Athletic Department and at Malden High School for five decades-plus is, of course, a “labor of love.”

“I love working with the students, the staff here at Malden High School and the people you meet around other cities,” Marquardo said.

“I also enjoy working with all the coaches through the years…. except when they don’t answer their emails!” she said with a smile.

And to the “golden question,” what does her future hold? “I’m not going anywhere, this is where I belong,” she said.

There is no one at Malden High School or across the district who would disagree!

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