Marie Lucille Carden

Marie Lucille Carden (Putman), formerly of Bloomington, IL, died in the early hours of Saturday, May 9, 2015, at the age of 79, during a brief stay at the Sawtelle Family House Hospice in Reading, MA. The cause of death is the result of a courageous, ten-year battle with multiple myeloma during which she enjoyed predominately happy, active days with friends and family. Marie was the beloved wife of Dr. Robert W. Carden, of Reading, MA, and beloved mother of John F. Carden and his wife Melissa, of Hampton, NH, Paul T. Carden of North Attleboro, MA, and Alice M. Lang (Carden) who precedes her in death, and her widower Gerry Lang, of East Boston, MA.Marie was born in Normal, IL, November 30, 1935, to the late Dale and Ruth Putman of Bloomington, IL. She graduated from University High School in Normal in 1953. She married Robert Carden on August 22, 1958 in Normal, IL. Together, they raised three children in Bloomington and Chicago, IL, and Arlington, MA, before finally settling in Reading, MA., where she and Robert lived for 27 years. Marie held a bachelor degree in Fine Arts from UMass Boston, and a masters in Historic Preservation from Boston University.Marie held many significant professions including employment as a substitute teacher in Arlington, MA, at Fogg Art Museum and Widener Library, both of Harvard University, as well as the U.S. Dept. of Interior, Historic Preservation, Lowell, MA offices, from 1985 until her 1997 retirement, where she was active in the preservation and restoration of prominent historic American homes and sites throughout the east. She valued her profession and her colleagues greatly. She was a recipient of the Oliver Torrey Fuller Award in 1992 for her publication, Use of Ultraviolet Light as an Aid to Pigment Identification.Marie was a member of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees since 1997, a supporting member of the Reading Symphony and the Reading Art Association, a long-standing member of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and a member of Friends of Reading Library. Throughout her life, Marie had a strong interest in art, music and gardening. She painted, was an excellent piano player and loved to beautify her home inside and out. Most of all, she enjoyed being with her family and friends.One of the many highlights of her married life was a trip to Paris in 1987 with her husband where the above photograph was taken.Marie is remembered as being, a "saint, classy, a sweet, gentle and interesting person, as lighter than air, ethereal- always beautiful, in spirit as well as physical beauty, as always having "a smile on that lovely face.She is survived by her dear brothers John Putman and his wife Ginny, of Urbana, IL, and Karl Putman and his wife Dorien, of Marshalltown, IA, many cousins including Linda Allen, of Franklin, TN, Ed Sams of Bloomington, IL, Joey Highland, of Orange Park, FL, Ann Nelli, of Chandler, AZ, Marilyn Draper, of Seattle, WA, Steve Wissmiller, of Heyworth, IL, Jeanie Smith, of Chula Vista, CA, and nieces and nephews including Susan Gibson of Champaign, IL, John Putman of Mobile, AL, Andy Lawler, of West Des Moines, IA, Debbie Cullity, of Whitman, MA, Jennifer Putman, of Billings, MT, and Jim Putman, of Wofford Heights, CA, several great nieces and nephews, a relationship by marriage with Valerie Buchanan, of Fort Meyers, FL, and her dear friends Franca Ainsworth, of South Paris, ME, and Jacqui Stanish, of Bloomington, IL. Funeral mass will be at 11:00 am, Saturday, June 6 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Bloomington. Visitation will be for one hour prior to the mass, Saturday at the church. Burial will follow services at Holy Cross Cemetery, Normal. rnrnDonations can be made to Sawtelle Family Hospice House, 320 Haverhill St, Reading, MA 01867, (781) 439-6123.