Norwich ― A new sign adorns the Rose City Senior Center with the name of longtime Director Janice “Jan” Stewart to recognize her years of service and efforts to get the Mahan Drive facility built.

City leaders, family members, friends and senior center patrons will gather for a dedication ceremony at 6 p.m. Monday in front of the senior center at 8 Mahan Drive to unveil the sign and dedicate the center in Stewart’s memory. The event is open to the public.

Stewart died Dec.1, 2021 at age 83. She had worked for the Norwich senior center from 1975 to 2000, starting when the facility was a storefront on Main Street, then moving to slightly larger quarters in the Buckingham Memorial Building on Main Street.

She became senior affairs director in 1977 and advocated for a new, larger center.

State funding came through with assistance of then-state Sen. Kenneth Przybysz, and the Rose City Senior Center on Mahan Drive was built in 1994. Stewart served as director until she retired in 2000. She continued to serve on the Senior Affairs Commission and served on boards of other health and senior services agencies in the city.

She also served on the Woman’s City Club and the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce.

Jan and her husband, Ray Stewart, were volunteers for decades with local youth sports and recreation services. In her retirement, Jan Stewart was coordinator of the Norwich City Hall docent program.

Retired former Norwich Human Services Director Lee-Ann Gomes worked closely with Stewart in her department’s role overseeing the senior center operations.

“She was just a lovely person, a tireless advocate for the seniors,” Gomes said Friday. “She really set the tone for the senior center and drove the political process to bring that beautiful center to Norwich.”

Gomes said Stewart “kept us on our toes” after she retired with her service on the Senior Affairs Commission and other volunteer efforts.

“She made sure everything we did kept what was best for seniors in mind,” Gomes said.

c.bessette@theday.com