A champion of women's rights, Constance R. Marquardt was selected to become the first "Mrs. Clearwater" in l983.
By BETSY BOLGER-PAULET
Published September 2, 2004
Constance R. "Connie" Marquardt, the first "Mrs. Clearwater" and a fixture of religious, social and political circles in Clearwater for five decades, died Tuesday (Aug. 31, 2004). She was 95.
She was presented the history-making title in 1983 by the chamber of commerce. The award, which was started in 1958, had previously been titled "Mr. Clearwater" because only men were considered for the honor. In fact, 10 years earlier, her late husband, Emil C. Marquardt Sr., had held the title of Mr. Clearwater.
The Kalamazoo, Mich., native and her husband came to Clearwater in 1939 from Flint, Mich., after being told by visitors that Clearwater was "a lovely little village."
Mr. Marquardt opened and managed the city's first JCPenney store downtown on Cleveland Street starting in 1940. He retired from management of the store when it was moved in 1968 to an enclosed, air-conditioned shopping mall on Missouri Avenue.
In 1981, Mrs. Marquardt received the David Bilgore Memorial Award for outstanding community service - an annual commemoration by the pioneer Bilgore family presented through the Kiwanis Club since 1954.
Mrs. Marquardt's involvement in her community comprised a long list of causes, including government reform, human relations, recreation, voter registration, health care, cultural programs, civil rights and women's rights.
In 1948, she became the first treasurer of the Clearwater League of Women Voters.
Over the years, she was a regular spokeswoman for the group at City Commission sessions, and it was her interest in better government that prompted her to join Common Cause, a nonpartisan citizens lobby group working toward more open and accountable government, for which she was a member of the steering committee.
The League of Women Voters had existed nationally since 1920, but the Clearwater chapter wasn't formed until January 1949. Mrs. Marquardt was among the 79 charter members.
In 1988, when the league celebrated its 40th birthday, Mrs. Marquardt was again the group's spokeswoman, stating her belief that the "organization of concerned, caring women has made a difference (locally)."
She cited the league's work in state reapportionment to halt the rural counties' pork domination of the Florida Legislature and the push for home rule, commended the group's local and national support of the United Nations and the 1954 Supreme Court school desegregation decision.
She believed that both measures survived opposition at least in part because league members educated the public about the importance of the U.N. and made sure local school board officials obeyed the law of the land. She also talked about the local league's support of the manager/commission form of government and its efforts to bring the professional manager system to county government.
Into her 80s, Mrs. Marquardt remained a staunch community activist, attending league meetings, serving on the boards of the Spouse Abuse Shelter and Family Service Centers and volunteering at the Food Pantry.
She is perhaps best known for her work with Religious Community Services, particularly for her lobbying of the Pinellas County Commission to fund health care for low-income residents.
At the RCS 20th anniversary dinner in 1987, Mrs. Marquardt recalled the program's early days when, she said, "the organizational meetings represented some of the first real dialogue between blacks and whites in Clearwater."
She and her husband of 51 years were founding members of both St. Cecelia Catholic Church in Clearwater and St. Brendan Catholic Church on Clearwater Beach. Mr. Marquardt died in 1981.
Survivors include two sons, Emil C. Jr., Belleair, and Dr. John D., Rochester, N.Y.; a daughter, Mary Ann Marquardt, Albuquerque, N.M.; a sister, Rita Culver, Kalamazoo; eight grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. tonight at Rhodes Funeral Chapel, 800 East Road, Clearwater, with funeral services at 10 a.m. Friday, St. Cecelia Catholic Church, 820 Jasmine Way, Clearwater. Burial will follow at Sylvan Abbey Cemetery on Sunset Point Road. Donations may be made in her name to Religious Community Services, 700 Druid Road East, Clearwater, FL 33756.
Information from Times files was used in this report.
