PORTSMOUTH — Dwane "Skip" Marden, 61, passed away suddenly on Friday, Feb. 23, 2007. He was the son of the late Edna (Slack) Marden and the late Dwane Otis Marden Sr., both of Newmarket.

He was born March 18, 1945, at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. He spent most of his life in the Seacoast area. He was a 1963 graduate of Dover High School, majoring in the culinary arts. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, achieving the level of Certified Executive Chef. He married Vicki L. Robinson on May 3, 1981.

He worked at many prestigious hotels in his life, including The Wentworth By the Sea, the Westbury Hotel in Toronto, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Hilton Hawaiian Village in Hawaii, The Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tenn., and the Soreno Hotel in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was a drill sergeant in the U.S. Army in Fort Polk, La., and Fort Ord, Calif.

He was currently the Executive Chef at Abercrombie & Finch in North Hampton. He spent most of his working years as a member of the American Culinary Federation locally and nationally. He was a founding member of the New Hampshire Culinary Federation in 1978 and later he helped found the Piscataqua Chapter of the A.C.F. He was the 1988 Chef of the year for the Piscataqua Chapter of the A.C.F. and the 1983 Chef of the Year for the Tennessee Chapter of the A.C.F. in Nashville. He had held several positions in both chapters, including treasurer and public relations. He was also a member of the American Academy of Chefs. He won one silver and two bronze medals in culinary competitions. He also received the 1980 Judges Award at the Taste of N.H.

He served on many committees for the A.C.F., including the building of the National Headquarters in St. Augustine, Fla., and Culinary Arts adviser for the Exeter Co-op Middle School. He received many awards in his lifetime inclusive of the American Academy of Chefs service award certificate; two Portsmouth Mayors Awards for his volunteer work and in 1986 he received a recognition award for his longtime dedication to the A.C.F. and its program.

He was well-known for his volunteer work and he enjoyed it immensely. He spear headed the United Way fund raiser of $11,000 at the Maxwell Hotel. He had volunteered his time to many food kitchens, the most recent being "The Common Table" at St. John's Church in Portsmouth. He served on the Exeter Co-op Culinary Committee. He organized "The Taste of the Seacoast" for Altrusa for 19 years. He worked closely on the Piscataqua Chapters fundraisers for the "Chef and the Child Foundation" which distributes to local organizations.

He was an avid fisherman and belonged to the B.A.S.S. catch and release program. He was working on introducing himself to all the fish in New Hampshire! His second love was golf. His favorite was golfing with his friends at Rockingham County Club, where he had started as a caddy in his teen years. He was a fan of Newmarket and Dover High School basketball programs in which he grew up. He had recently become a UNH fan since his nephew, Scott Weitzell, had become the director of basketball operations. His all time favorite thing to do was to spend time with his family.

He was a mentor to many up and coming chefs and students. He was a generous and giving person to all he came in contact. He had many longstanding friendships, was loved by many and will be dearly missed.

He was survived by his wife of 26 years, Vicki Marden of Portsmouth and his daughter and son-in-law, Emily Anne and Chad Truax of Salt Lake City, Utah; a sister and a brother-in-law, Crystal and Ron Weitzell of Newmarket; a brother and sister-in-law, Dale and Mary Marden of Sarasota, Fla.; a brother-in-law, Don Pottle of Shrewsbury, Mass.; his mother-in-law, Barbara Cable, who resided with him and his wife; two nieces, Kim Weitzell of Newmarket and Kelly Marden of Rockland, Maine; and one nephew, Scott Weitzell of Newmarket. Along with his side of the family, he was survived by inlaws, Robert and Jean Robinson of Lebanon, Maine, Michael and Maureen Briney of Portsmouth, Anne and Dana Thurlow of Stong, Maine, and Cynthia Teeter of Rochester. He also has several cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by a sister, Jacqueline Pottle of Shrewsbury, Mass.

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In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Skip Marden Culinary Scholarship, c/o Atlantic Culinary Academy, 181 Silver St., Dover, N.H. 03820, Attn.: Jodi Holihan. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a Dover High School culinary graduate who shows the drive, love and potential of the culinary arts as Skip did.

***From Foster's Online February 26, 2007