Dedication of the Maura Finneran Marden Memorial Garden

The Memorial Bench plaque
The Marden and Finneran Families

On July 9th family and friends gathered for the dedication of the Maura Finneran Marden Memorial Garden that is nestled under the trees in front of the Westport Weston Family YMCA.  Maura’s mother, Margaret Finneran, spearheaded the project as a memorial to her daughter since the Westport Weston Family YMCA was such a special place to her entire family.  Besides being a Y member, Maura was also part of the staff, a Master’s Swimmer and a dedicated Water Rat parent.  Her husband, known as “Big Bill”, was a member of the Y’s Board of Directors for 7 years and was at Maura’s side for every Water Rats event to cheer their boys on.  

Margaret thanked all who had worked on the garden including, Kathryn Practor, SLAM Landscape Architect and Tony Palmer Landscaping who installed the garden, also thoughtfully thanking Maura’s friends at the Y who swam and raised funds to help build the garden and continue to honor her with an annual swim meet. Bill spoke of their Y dedication and how the swim team helped to shape the character of their boys and Maura’s brother Ed told stories of her strength and tenaciousness.

Please stop and take a break from the day by sitting on the bench inscribed with a plate that says “No Surrender XOXO” which is a special saying they shared all shared with Maura.