Marcia B. Randol — wife, mother, grandmother, friend and lifelong community volunteer — died on Oct. 11 in Southport, Conn. after a multi-year bout with dementia. She was 81.

Marcia was born in New Britain, Conn. on Oct. 4, 1944 to her parents, Victor and Vanja (Palmgren) Baylock.

She attended school in Kensington, Conn. before graduating from the MacDuffie school in Granby, ultimately going on to earn a BA from Smith College in Northampton.

A fervent and selfless advocate for her family, community and the underprivileged, she was driven by a sense of fairness and passion to help others. She abhorred rubbish. Always engaged and well-read, she was an avid cook and always keen to discuss the latest local, national and world events.

She and her late husband William (Bill) resided in Bedford, N.Y. for 30 years, where Marcia volunteered at the Junior League of Westchester, St Mark’s Episcopal Church (Mount Kisco), the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility, Graham-Windham (Hastings-on-Hudson), and the Rippowam-Cisqua School.

She and Bill were longtime supporters of the New York City Ballet.

While in Bedford, she eschewed the trappings of an advantaged community, instead taking in children of incarcerated mothers to allow for family visits, mentoring children, distributing food to the hungry and tirelessly serving on the altar guild.

Despite her many external engagements, she always supported the numerous endeavors of her husband and two sons, to whom she was a tough but highly devoted mother.

In 2001, Marcia and Bill retired to Chilmark, where Marcia served as board member at Featherstone Center for the Arts (president emeritus), volunteer at the Island Food Pantry, and mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program of Eastern Massachusetts alongside her husband Bill.

Marcia was loved and respected by her family, friends and community. She is survived by Ben (Jane) and Jeremy (Jesse), sons, as well as Colin, Sean, Ruby, Sam, Emily and Francie, grandchildren, and Gordon, “little brother.”