MARYSVILLE – The first woman mayor of Marysville, Rita Matheny, died Jan. 19 in a Mount Vernon nursing home.
Matheny, 83, served on the City Council from 1981-88 before being elected to a four-year term as mayor. She continued to be active until suffering a stroke in 1996.
A self-described “everyday mayor,” Matheny took pride in maintaining an open-door policy with residents, involving them in setting city goals, city spokesman Doug Buell said.
City parks and recreation director Jim Ballew said Matheny hired him in 1989.
“I’ll never forget that adventure,” Ballew said. “She charmed me into Marysville. She was passionate about bringing more recreational opportunities to her community.”
Matheny’s legacy to the parks and recreation system included the 31-acre addition of Jennings Nature Park to Jennings Memorial Park, Hickok Park, a new parks building, numerous summer recreation programs and the Merrysville for the Holidays winter celebration.
Ballew said Matheney represented the city in almost everything she did.
“She wrote the book in terms of representing Marysville at every cause,” Ballew said.
Council member Donna Wright said Matheny made friends easily.
“Being Irish, she was a wonderful hostess for the city, and was always charming and delightful,” Wright said.
Construction of the Public Safety Building occurred on her watch, as did the addition of detective and narcotics divisions in the police department, a full-time DARE officer, and establishment of the all-volunteer crime prevention unit Marysville Seniors Against Crime.
“She was really good at coordinating volunteers,” said Mary Swenson, the city’s chief administrative officer.
Matheny founded the original Snohomish County Mayor’s Association. That was a huge accomplishment, Swenson said.
During her tenure, Matheny also lobbied for construction of the 88th Street NE interchange on I-5 and brought improvements to the public transportation system, including the downtown park-and-ride lot on I-5.
She also served on the Everett-Snohomish County Impact Coordinating Council, which attracted the Navy to Everett.
She was born in 1922, the 10th of 13 children, to James and Ann McGarry in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Near the end of World War II, she married Frank Matheny. They had five children: Ellen, Gary, Michael, Colleen and Patrick.
One highlight of her life was when the late U.S. Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson of Everett selected her as a state representative to the 1976 Democratic National Convention, where she backed Jimmy Carter’s presidential nomination.
She also was involved with the Economic Development Council of Snohomish County board, Puget Sound Council of Governments and the Community Transit board of directors, which she once chaired.
Funeral arrangements are under the care of Funeral Alternatives of Snohomish County.
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