Joan Toenniessen, the former managing editor of the Main Line Times and News of Delaware County, who was also the first woman president of the Rotary Club of Ardmore, has died.

Joan Connor Toenniessen, 86, of Drexel Hill, died April 19, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

In 1966, Mrs. Toenniessen joined the Main Line Times as a local news correspondent, eventually serving as managing editor from 1976 to 1995.

She became managing editor of the News of Delaware County in 1995 and said in 2010 that her goal as a newsroom leader was simple:

“My philosophy was to give the community a local newspaper which reflected the community and served the people and organizations in the community.”

She was a longtime member of the Rotary Club of Ardmore and was named the group’s first female president in 1998, serving as an assistant district governor after that.

She received an outstanding service award from Rotary International in 2006, was named 2002 Woman of the Year by the Delaware County Woman’s Commission, and earned its Spirit of Excellence Award for individual business achievement.

In 2013, she won the Good Neighbor Award from ElderNet of Lower Merion and Narberth.

Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer about the life of Joan Toenniessen.