In a brief note delivered to Newtown’s Human Resources Department on December 19, long-time Newtown Senior Services Director Marilyn Place announced her intention to resign.

Stating her wishes to spend more time with family and her grandchildren, Ms Place said she is taking an “early retirement.”

“I have decided this was a good time to step off to allow a new director take the reins of the new center,” she wrote. “My work here at the Senior Center with the residents in Newtown has been the greatest privilege of my career.”

First Selectman Daniel Rosenthal reacted to the news, saying, “Marilyn served our community, and more specifically, our seniors, with pride, caring, and accomplishment for nearly 30 years. She will be missed in retirement and will always be welcomed at the Senior Center. I wish her only the best.”

Newtown Commission on Aging (COA) Chair Anna Wiedemann said, “I would like to thank Marilyn for her many dedicated years of service to our seniors.”

John S. Boccuzzi Sr, who co-founded the Friends of Newtown Seniors organization and who serves on the COA, recognized Ms Place's close involvement with local seniors and senior issues during her long career with the Town.

"Her efforts to maintain affordable services at the senior center has been recognized and appreciated by all those who attend activities there," Mr Buccuzzi said. "The work done to this point on programming and services has laid a foundation for the rapid changes that will come as a new center is opened and the senior population of Newtown continues to grow. It is my hope that Marilyn will continue her involvement by joining collaborative efforts being put in place to meet the challenges of the future. I wish her well as she moves into whatever the next stage of life brings and thanks for her efforts on the part of seniors."

Ms Place’s date of departure was not determined at press time.