By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Westborough – Jacqueline Tidman, who for many years served on Westborough's Historical Commission, passed away on Aug. 20, at the age of 87. She had been living with her daughter, Jeanne Dwyer Silvious, in Fredericksburg, Va.
Tidman took great pride in her role of helping to preserve Westborough's history, including as a member of the Historical Commission, a group she was instrumental in helping to form in 1978. She served as chair for nearly three decades before retiring in 2006.
As such, she, along with several other residents including Kristina Allen, Phil Kittredge and Glenn Parker, were known for many years as the town's unofficial historians.
“[Tidman] was a great champion of preserving Westborough's history and worked very hard at it,” Allen said.
“She was very active in the archeological surveying of plots in town. She was very proud of her work in surveying Cedar Swamp and Lake Hoccomocco,” she added.
For nearly 25 years, Lydia Goldblatt served in many capacities in town government, including Board of Selectmen. She recalled Tidman as one who “loved the town and was nothing but an asset in her role as a member of the Historical Commission.”
“It's sad – one more person who was so dedicated to our town and did so much for it is no longer here,” she added.
Denny Drewry, a current selectman, noted that he had first met Tidman and her late husband Walter in the late 1970s.
“She was always friendly and personable and had a smile of her face,” Drewry said. “She and Walter spent many hours of their own free time working so hard for Westborough and its residents.”
The former Jacqueline Chabot was born in Boston, the daughter of the late George J. Chabot and Dorothy (Mauger) Chabot. Her husband, Walter F. Tidman, her daughter Jennifer L. Marino and her brother George J. Chabot, Jr., pre-deceased her.
She is survived by her daughter, Jeanne D. Silvious and her husband, James, of Fredericksburg, Va.; her daughter, Heather L. Moran and her husband Patrick of Grafton; her son, Peter A. Tidman and his fiancé, Heather W. Merrow of Center Ossipee, N.H.; her niece, Donna Jeanne Eldridge and her husband, Michael, of Martha's Vineyard, six grandsons, a great nephew and 16 great grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in the chapel at Pine Grove Cemetery, 106 South St., Westborough, on Monday,? Sept. 9 at 1 p.m.
