Maria Madsen Holzberg, the first woman elected mayor in Middletown in 1995, has died, leaving behind a legacy of leadership, advocacy and philanthropy.
Madsen Holzberg died after a brief battle with cancer at her Middletown home Middletown — the city that she so fiercely loved for nearly four decades — “]with her husband of 38 years, Robert L. Holzberg, by her side on March 28. She was 68.
Madsen Holzberg married Holzberg, a now-retired superior court judge, in 1986. They met at the University of Connecticut, where Madsen Holzberg received her law degree in 1983 after graduating from Mount Holyoke College and serving as a legislative aide in Governor Ella Grasso’s Washington office.
At UConn, she earned the prestigious Hon. M. Joseph Blumenfeld Award for outstanding client advocacy and worked with Holzberg on the defense team for the state’s first capital murder case.
Holzberg said their love of law, Middletown, and mutual pursuit of justice played a hand in their long marriage.
An attorney in general practice and juvenile matters before and after her two-year term as mayor in 1995, Holzberg straddled the line between public servant and private philanthropist. She was a fierce advocate for justice, an artful gardener and florist, a generous neighbor, an active volunteer, a historic preservationist, and a devoted wife, friend and aunt.
Though her public successes were notable — creation of the city’s remodeled police station, revitalization of the downtown district, and preservation of the Wadsworth Mansion to name a few — her husband said her private generosity was what made her truly remarkable.
Each December, Madsen Holzberg went on elaborate shopping trips and filled their home with Christmas gifts for strangers in need.
“She always felt that one was never enough. Everyone should have a couple of gifts to open. She was just that kind, compassionate, dedicated and loving,” he said.
Most of her generous acts, Holzberg said, weren’t the ones that were known around town. She put over 20 kids through college, either in whole or in part, and never said a word about it, he said. She would finance their tuition or the cost of students’ books and semesters abroad.
Knowing them, she said, “felt like having a larger tribe to help support me through school.”
“Meeting someone like Maria, it almost makes you have faith in the world, but it makes you take a look at yourself and think ‘This is the type of person I want to be,’ ” she said.
“All the true, kind, pure acts of service that have been done in her life really need to be shared. She was so down to earth, so unassuming, she was just a bright little light that changed so many people’s lives,” Mehra added.
Political inspiration
As the city’s first woman mayor, Madsen Holzberg broke the glass ceiling and was a role model to women and girls as she worked to change the landscape of the city.
“She really was a trailblazer in Middletown and she made a real difference in my life,” said Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, who credits Holzberg for the courage to run for her first public office in 1993.
Bysiewicz said she was nervous about jumping into a race for state representative but was met by enthusiasm and support by Madsen Holzberg, who promised right away to gather a group of women at her dining room table to help her campaign.
“She convinced me that it was possible and helped support me at a time when there were very few women in the legislature and very few women stepping forward to run for office,” said Bysiewicz.
Former Middletown Mayor Michael J. Cubeta, Jr. said he first got to know Madsen Holzberg when she was running for mayor.
“Middletown was more than due to have its first female mayor and Maria was a perfect fit for the job,” he said. “She was tireless, she knocked on just about every door in Middletown and was very social. Her heart was in the right place. She had a great heart and a great generosity of spirit, and was always looking to do the right thing.”
Her longtime friend Debby Shapiro said Madsen Holzberg was “a dynamo.”
“Once she latched on to something, she was all in,” Shapiro said, noting that when Madsen Holzberg knocked on all those doors, she wore the same pair of sneakers, which are now on display at the Middlesex County Historical Society.
Her on-the-ground style of leadership continued in office.
“With some mayors, city hall tends to be on automatic pilot,” said Cubeta. “But not so with Maria. She had a strong steady hand at the helm on a day-to-day basis and she also had a tremendous impact on the landscape of Middletown physically.”
During her tenure, Madsen Holzberg had a hand in three major projects: renovations of a historic mansion and an elementary school, and construction of the new downtown police station.
Cubeta, who chaired the building committee for the construction of the new police station, remembers sitting with her in her office with the architects as she laid out her vision for a building that would evoke memories of the old Middletown City Hall, inspired by its brownstone style and clock tower.
She also felt that putting the police station on Main Street would be “a strong anchor downtown” and would send a message to folks that that was a safe area. She also brought in an urban planner who helped envision Middletown as a culinary hub, he said.
“It really proved to be the pivotal action in the new vitality of the new downtown Middletown and she really deserves all the credit for that,” Cubeta said.
After her mayoral term, she was appointed the first juvenile public defender in the Middlesex Judicial District and served in that capacity for 12 years until her retirement in 2014.
As full as her schedule was, Madsen Holzberg made time for the things that inspired her. She didn’t need much sleep, her husband joked, and instead filled her hours with art, travel, flowers, fashion and family.
She dressed tables at loved ones’ wedding receptions with elaborate floral arrangements and adored shopping trips in Paris with her nieces, with whom she belted out high notes on karaoke stages.
She took to local stages, too, as a member of the theater group, the Middletown Vintage Players, took a cooking class at a chateau in France, admired artwork at the Louvre, and made a second home in Ireland.
Patsy Hofher, who knew Madsen Holzberg for 25 years, described her dear friend as “unbelievable.”
“She was somewhat of a force to be reckoned with, quite honestly, she was just the most generous and she just gave of herself and her time very unselfishly.”
The two met at Middletown Garden Club of which Madsen Holzberg became president.
In her retirement, Madsen Holzberg worked to beautify the city, installing “pocket parks,” crafting award-winning floral arrangements and securing more than 10,000 donated plants for the Maria Madsen Holzberg Pollinator Pathway along the river.
“Her successes here in town, her efforts, are visible everywhere,” said Bysiewicz.
A memorial and celebration of Madsen Holzberg’s life will be held at the Wadsworth Mansion in Middletown, at 5:30 p.m., July 25.
With her spirit of generosity still intact, Holzberg asked that in lieu of flowers or donations, those who mourn her should send flowers to ones they love.
