Nancy Stevens

Nancy Stevens died on Wednesday 21 October 2026 at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, at the age of 65. Her family did not make the cause of death public. Her obituary was published by the Slattery Funeral Home on 26 October, and her death was reported by the MetroWest Daily News, the Community Advocate and Marlborough Patch on 27 October 2026.

Marlborough's mayor, J. Christian Dumais, paid tribute to her work on the city's infrastructure and economic development, and flags on all municipal buildings were lowered to half staff on Thursday 29 and Friday 30 October in her honor. Visiting hours were held on Thursday 29 October 2026 from 5 to 7 pm at the Slattery Funeral Home, 40 Pleasant Street, Marlborough.

Nancy Stevens was born Nancy McGuire on 17 September 1961. She was the daughter of Barbara McGuire and Lea Huff, and the adoptive daughter of Thomas McGuire. She grew up in Pennsauken, New Jersey, with sisters Kathy and Beth and brothers Lee and Samuel, and attended college at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania.

In 1992 she and her family moved to Marlborough, Massachusetts. As her children entered the Marlborough Public School system she joined the Parent Teacher Organization, the volunteer work that her family said first drew her into public service.

Wanting to do more for the city's schools, Stevens ran for the Marlborough School Committee in 1999 and served from 2000 to 2003. In 2003 she was elected a city councilor at large and served the 2004 to 2005 term on the City Council.

In 2005 she ran for mayor and was elected, becoming the first woman to lead Marlborough. She won two more elections and served three consecutive terms, from 2006 to 2012. Her administration put a strong emphasis on infrastructure, and she helped secure more than $10 million in grants and bonding to upgrade the Westerly and Easterly wastewater treatment facilities. She was a founding member of the Marlborough 2010 Corporation, and during her tenure special legislation was passed dedicating Marlborough's hotel tax revenue to economic development. That arrangement laid the foundation for what became the Marlborough Economic Development Corporation.

After her third term ended in 2012, she continued her public service career with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the Department of Public Utilities.

Stevens lived in Marlborough from 1992 until her death. She had two children, Kelsey Stevens of Somerville and Daniel Stevens of Malden. Her obituary said she was looking forward to the arrival of her first grandchild, expected by Daniel and his wife Joanna in February 2027.

Stevens is remembered as the first woman elected mayor of Marlborough and as a leader whose investment in the city's wastewater plants and economic development structures helped support the growth that followed. Her path from school volunteer to School Committee, City Council and three terms as mayor made her a familiar example of local public service in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts.