Marjorie Mader, an Almanac education reporter for 40 years, died on Dec. 31 at her home in Ladera at the age of 93.

A Wisconsin native, Mader earned a bachelor's degree in journalism at Stanford University. She spent a year as a Coro Foundation fellow, studying public affairs, and then worked as a reporter for the Independent Journal in Marin County. She joined The Almanac five years after its inception in 1970, when it was known as The Country Almanac, according to The Almanac's archives.

During that time, she met George Mader, who would become Portola Valley's longtime and legendary town planner. They married and moved to the Menlo Park area in 1956, and then to their new Ladera home in 1965, The Almanac previously reported.

It was a school issue that brought her back into journalism in 1970. After working very hard on a curriculum problem in the Las Lomitas district, The Almanac failed to cover a key meeting. She called the editor, Hedy Boissevain, to complain. Boissevain said the paper didn't have enough reporters and recruited Marjorie to cover Portola Valley.

When Marjorie started with the publication, the Historic Schoolhouse at the Portola Valley Town Center was still a school (its schools, Ormondale and Corte Madera are now on two different sites in town). Today, the building is used for the Town Council and other community meetings.

Marjorie's daughter, Ann Stillman, remembers observing her mother on deadline.

"I knew my mom's work required her to attend night meetings and I understood that," Stillman said. "I saw how stressful the approaching deadlines were and how some stories came easily for her to write while others were much more difficult to have come together in her mind and on paper."

As was the case for many families in the years before cellphones, there was only one home phone line at the Mader household. This meant that as a teenager Stillman recalled wanting to talk on the phone with friends, but couldn't when her mom was on deadline and waiting for a source to call back.

"My mom worked for The Almanac for decades and she was able to balance family and work; to both my parents, family was very important," Stillman said. "I have always been a working mom and I know my family fills my heart and my work is also important to me. Having the right balance is not easy, but good to strive for."

Marjorie started the job during the days of typewriters and eventually worked on a Mac.

"I think my mom enjoyed journalism and being a reporter; capturing the stories or the information," Stillman said. Her mother had a genuine interest in people and had the ability to ask probing questions, she said.

Stillman remembers her mother pulling out a notebook to take notes during phone calls with family members. Then she'd report out during dinner.

"She wouldn't take a phone call without taking notes," she said.

Former Almanac editor Richard Hine said in an email that Mader was part of a core group of Almanac staffers who were deeply embedded in the community and made the paper a distinctive and valued community asset during more than four decades, dating to the early years of the paper.

"After I arrived at The Almanac in 1988, I often encountered readers with an unusually strong and personal connection to the paper, saying they read it from 'cover to cover' and considered it their paper," he said. "That was due to staffers like Marjorie, who had a deep knowledge of the community, in particular, local school districts, which she covered tirelessly for years, sitting through countless hours of board meetings. Marjorie and her late husband, George Mader, who became an internationally recognized expert on urban planning in areas threatened by earthquakes and landslides, were community treasures."

Marjorie covered Portola Valley schools, the Menlo Park City School District and the Sequoia Union High School District, as well as community colleges and regional educational issues. She also wrote profiles of impressive Midpeninsula residents.

She and George traveled across Europe while George completed his Fulbright Program in Holland. Marjorie loved the mountains and to visit her native Wisconsin. They also visited places prone to major earthquakes in places like Turkey and China through George's disaster preparedness work.

"They did a lot together," Stillman reflected. She's also grateful that she was able to live so close to them (Stillman lives in unincorporated West Menlo Park) for many years. "They worked so well with decision making; picking the artwork they had. They evaluated, but always together."

The town of Portola Valley recognized the pair for their work in the community in 2001.

Marjorie is preceded in death by her husband George, who died in 2022. She is survived by her three children: Steve, Ann and Phil. Steve and Helen live in Santa Rosa. Phil and Alison live in Woodside and have three children — Caroline, Max and Gillian. Ann and John Stillman have two children Cayla (who lives in Portland, Oregon) and Bradley (who lives in Sacramento). Steve is a local contractor, Ann is director of public for San Mateo County, and Phil is an investment manager.

Memorial services have not yet been planned. n