Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, July 21, 2023 OBITUARIES Carole Elaine Zimmerman A longtime resident of Malden, MA, passed away on July 12, 2023. She was 84 years old. Carole loved trips to York Beach, Maine, and Coco Beach each year. She enjoyed crocheting blankets, coasters, and placemats. Carole grew up in Malden and was a part of the MHS class of 1956. She cherished her grandkid's hockey games, dance recitals, and bowling tournaments. Carole was the signifi cant other of John Browne of Malden for 20 years. She was the loving mother of Karen Janeiro and her husband Joseph of Melrose, Raymond Zimmerman, and signifi cant other Donna Wade of Malden, the late Ronald Zimmerman, Deborah Marchant, and signifi cant other Eric Sophr of Haverhill. Carole was the sister of the late Robert Johnston. She was also the cherished grandmother of Robert, Jennifer, Joseph III, Jarrett, Marissa, Vanessa, Christina, Nathanial, Veronica, and Schayne as well as 9 great-grandchildren. The funeral will be held from the A.J. Spadafora Funeral Home, 865 Main St. Malden on Friday, July 21st at 9:00 am followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at Sacred Hearts Church, 297 Main St. Malden at 10:00 am. Visiting hours were held at the funeral home on Thursday, July 20th. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. The interment will be at Lakeside Cemetery, Wakefi eld. People may make their donations to the charity of their choice. Joanne Croken Of Malden. Died unexpectedly in her home in early July. Joanne was a Malden native and longtime Department of Conservation and Recreation Ranger. Joanne was born on December 6, 1960 to the late Claire F. Croken (McAnneny) and the late Malden District Court Clerk Magistrate, Joseph E. Croken, Sr. Joanne grew up in Malden and graduated from Malden High School, followed by a post-Graduate year at Hebron Academy in Maine. Joanne then furthered her studies at Boston University. Joanne’s interest in politics and public service took her to a job as a tour guide at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston. It was there that Joanne was in her element, sharing with visitors her love for President Kennedy and the Kennedy Family, in addition to her commitment to public service. Joanne spent most of her career, however, at the Massachusetts State House, as a State House Ranger. She was an integral part of that community since her start in the 1990’s. She had an infectious personality, great enthusiasm for her work, and a kind spirit. It was those traits that drew people to her – both her many colleagues throughout the years, as well as visitors to the State House. Joanne also had an incredible American Exterior and Window Corporation gift of being able to navigate the complex city, county, and state bureaucracies in order to help the people of Malden and surrounding areas. She felt very fortunate to be able to help people in that way. Joanne was also proud of her work on the Malden Retirement Board, a post to which she was appointed by Mayor Richard Howard. Joanne is survived by her sister, Charlene Walker and husband Chris, her beloved niece, Callie Ann, as well as her brother, Joseph E. Croken, Jr. She also leaves her Aunt Doris O’Meara (McAnneny), as well as many loving cousins and dear friends. In lieu of fl owers, donations can be made in Joanne’s memory to Malden Overcoming Addiction, 350 Main Street, Malden MA 02148 https://www. maldenovercomingaddiction .com/ A celebration of Joanne’s life will be held at a later date. Details to follow. Helen Emelia “Nordie” Nordquist March 23, 1932 – July 11, 2023 After 91 years of living a full life on earth, Helen “Nordie” Nordquist has passed to the next life. Born in Malden, Mass., to Otto and Ebone (Spongberg) Nordquist, Helen grew up into a strong Swedish heritage of self-suffi - ciency and determination. Best known in her life for her Contact us for all of your home improvement projects and necessities Telephone: 617-699-1782 Toll Free: 1-888-744-1756 Email: info@americanexteriorandwindow.com Windows, Siding, Roofing, Carpentry & More! All estimates, consultations or inspections completed by MA licensed supervisors. *Over 50 years experience. *Better Business Bureau Membership. Insured and Registered Complete Financing Available. No Money Down. athletic prowess, Helen fi rst displayed this formally at Beebe Junior High School where, at age 14, she was the fi rst female ever to receive a “certifi cate of excellence” and a school letter “B” for athletics. (Her second school letter earned there was for her three years of perfect attendance!) The next three years at Malden High School found Helen excelling in all three girls’ sports (fi eld hockey, basketball and softball), even as a sophomore being chosen over a senior to play shortstop. And as a junior, now called by the nickname “Nordie,” as coined by Coach Virginia Gardner, Nordie was chosen co-captain of the softball team. Nordie co-captained all three sports when a senior. Her senior year of 1950 culminated in her election by her coaches as “Best Girl Athlete”, an honor for which she received a gold loving cup. (And whoever knew Nordie understands why she was runner-up in the “class clown” category.) A plethora of MHS “M”s decorated her bedroom wall(s) from 1950 to 2023. Shortly after graduating, Nordie saw an article in a Boston newspaper announcing tryouts in Virginia for a mid-western girls’ baseball league, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). She and her mother boarded a Greyhound bus and headed south. After several days of hitting and fi elding, Nordie was chosen by coach Johnny Gottselig to join the Kenosha (Wisconsin) Comets. Refl ective of her talents in her hometown sports, Nordie completed her rookie season of 1951 playing in a career high 82 games and “leading the league in assists” from the outfi eld...at 19 years of age. Her professional career continued in 1952 – playing for the Rockford (Illinois) Peaches, made famous in Penny Marshall’s “A League of Their Own”. Nordie also elected to play in a winter league (the International Girls Baseball League) in 1952, later in life providing extensive details through her computer research for the history of that league. It was for this research that in 2014 she was recognized by AAGPBL with the Peppas Award for her service to the league. After two seasons with the Peaches, which made the playoffs in 1952 & 1953, Nordie played in 1954 for the South Bend (Indiana) Blue Sox as pitcher as well as outfi elder. The league ended when male baseball players returned to the baseball fi elds after the wars... and also because of the advent of television, allowing fans to watch baseball from home. Nordie’s return to Malden saw her employment as a switchboard operator, later a billing supervisor, and later a cost accounting clerk at several large companies in the area, also playing or coaching their sports teams, including bowling, at which she also excelled. Lest we think that only work and sports kept Nordie occupied, her many hobbies and talents included: creating (and electrifying) table lamps out of baseball bats, bowling pins, fi eld hockey sticks, her own hand carvings of duck decoys; building birdhouses and feeders; adding a family room to her grandfather’s house, doing the brickwork on the hearth, the ductwork for heat, woodwork carvings for the décor...not to forget to mention her automobile motor and electrical prowess...or her sewing talent, which led to her creation of a fl y-front skirt for easier changing while on long, hot AAGPBL bus rides. Several years later, in 1959, a women’s softball team of the then recently formed Tri-State Softball League found a home in Malden. Now at age 27, Nordie tried out and joined the “‘Malden Collegiates” team, which played its home games at Malden’s Roosevelt Field. Nordie’s hitting and fi elding (including, while at shortstop, engineering a triple play) contributed to the team’s Metropolitan Boston Championship at the end of the season. (Nordie’s sewing talent showed itself again when she created for her two-year-old nephew, Ronnie, a “team mascot” uniform, an exact replica, in miniature, of the team uniform.) Nordie relocated to New Hampshire in 1983, where later she was employed by the state until retiring in 1994. But baseball still remained an important part of her life. In 1982 the AAGPBL had begun annual reunions of the former players, reawakening in the aging players that important part of their youth. And the following years saw more attention to the league beyond just the players: In 1988, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., recognized the AAGPBL in a display called “Diamond Dreams”, showing memorabilia and posting a list of all the players in the league from its inception in 1943 through its fi nal year of 1954. In 1992, after seeing a documentary about the AAGPBL, Penny Marshall introduced to the movie-going public the very existence of the league and the exceptional talent of the women who played. This attention caused cities in Massachusetts and in New Hampshire to invite Nordie to throw out the fi rst pitch for the semi-pro team, the Brockton (Mass.) Rox, and for the youth team, the Rochester (N.H.) Girls Softball opening ceremony. And because of this now widespread publicity, many of the players were recognized so many years later by their hometowns. This includes Helen “Nordie” Nordquist, who in 2019 was inducted into Malden’s school sports club, the Golden Tornado Club’s Hall of Fame. And a further honor that the City of Malden announced in May is the naming of a baseball fi eld at the renovated and renamed Roosevelt Park as the “Helen ‘Nordie’ Nordquist Field”, the dedication date of which will be announced. It was Nordie’s wish that all her memorabilia from her Malden years be donated to the Malden Historical Society and that her extensive collections of AAGPBL and IGBL materials be donated to Bridgewater (Mass.) State University’s The Kathleen Bertrand and Linda Lundin “Honoring Women in Sports” Collection. OBITUARIES | SEE PAGE 18
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