Year Honored: 1996

Birth: 1923

Born in: Boston, Massachusetts

Biography

Jane Perkins Maroney served as a member of the Delaware House of Representatives from 1979 to 1998. She attended Radcliffe College, graduating in 1944, before working for the CIA from 1951 – 1956. In 1956, she married Dr. John Maroney, and the two moved to Wilmington, Delaware.

As a State Representative Maroney was involved with AIDS education and prevention as well as women’s and family issues. Her legislative work and advocacy focused on teen pregnancy prevention, child support enforcement, infant mortality, childcare, and child health. Jan Rheingold, the Executive Director of Child Care Connections in Delaware, said “[Maroney] consistently gives of her personal and legislative time to go to bat for childcare. She is a member of the founding group of Delaware’s statewide resource and referral network.” In that realm, she served on the National Conference of State Legislatures and was on the board of Connecting Generations, an organization that “partners with schools and educational programs to help children overcome adversity and develop strong social-emotional skills.”

Maroney also served as a member of the YWCA of New Castle County, the Task Force on AIDS, the Task Force on Surrogate Parenting and Bioethics, the United Way of Delaware, and the Coalition for Literacy.

She has been honored by the Chesapeake Bay Girl Scouts, the President’s Developmental Disabilities Administration, and the National Council of State Government. Maroney has also been awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Goldey-Beacom College and an award from the March of Dimes for “outstanding service to Delaware infants, young children, and their parents.”
_____________________________________________________________________________

Sources and Additional Readings

Delaware Business Now. (2016, October 28). Connecting generations to highlight work of Maroney, Patton. Delaware Business Now. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://delawarebusinessnow.com/2016/10/connecting-generations-to-highlight-work/

Google. (n.d.). Working Mother. Google Books. Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://books.google.com/books?id=5CmroQQZxTsC&pg=PA30#v=onepage&q=maroney&f=false

The Voter's Self Defense System. Vote Smart. (n.d.). Retrieved January 12, 2022, from https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/5769/jane-perkins-maroney