Among Maroney's honors was "Newspaperman of the Year," bestowed by The Springfield Lodge of Elks in 1971.
SPRINGFIELD — Even in her second nursing home, as Alzheimer’s disease was soon to close in and long after the swan song was over, Jane Maroney still had an eye for news.
Jane MaroneyShe has been called tenacious, cantankerous, crusty and one of the most careful journalists in the local area by those who knew her, worked with her and were covered by her.
Maroney, the first female city editor and the first female associate editor at The Republican newspapers, died in her sleep on March 25 after a long illness. She was 87.
A Westfield native, Maroney was named city editor of the Springfield Union in May 1969. She received a long list of awards during her tenure that spanned from 1954 to 1992 at the newspapers as she covered police, politics and later became one of the most astute copy editors in the organization, according to her colleagues. Among her honors was “Newspaperman of the Year,” bestowed by The Springfield Lodge of Elks in 1971.
“If you were on the wrong side of her editing, she could be vicious, but if you were on the right side of her editing, she was omniscient,” said former Springfield Daily News reporter and author Jim Trelease.
Trelease recalled that Maroney edited his first pass at his New York Times best-seller, “The Read-Aloud Handbook.” Maroney warned him that she meant to be a professional, not a friend.
“There were 26 corrections on the first page. She was kind enough to not write them in blood. I never felt so humbled,” said Trelease, who added that the two met when the Springfield newspapers were split between the Springfield Union and Daily News morning and evening editions.
True to her Irish heritage, Maroney could hold a heck of a grudge, Trelease said. But the two became friends nonetheless and remained friends until her death.
Both he and Maroney’s sister-in-law, Pauline Maroney, of Westfield, noted that Jane Maroney did not get her driver’s license until much later in life.
“She didn’t bother to get it until she realized it would get her to the story faster,” said Pauline Maroney, who was married to Jane Maroney’s younger brother, Thomas “Mickey” Maroney.
Pauline Maroney, a school teacher, and Jane Maroney remained close.
“She was very determined. She got an idea and off she went; she would follow whatever lead she had,” Pauline Maroney said.
Jane Maroney was the middle of five children. She never married or had children.
“Her career was her life,” Pauline Maroney said.
Former Mayor Charles V. Ryan, who was mayor in the 1960s and then again for two years beginning in the early part of this century, remembers Jane Maroney from his first go-round.
“There are some reporters who don’t understand. She really understood what was at issue and she asked the tough questions,” said Ryan. “She was very bright, tenacious and fair – what all the best reporters are.”