Anne Marie Quinlivan, Ethics Commission aide

An employee of the Ethics Commission for about 30 years, colleagues described her as a reliable source on the agency’s information technology resources.

With her family, she could be counted on to deliver a smile and a hug, along with home-cooked, multicourse meals.

“I could call her at any time, and she would come to help,’’ said her sister Maura E. Waszkiewicz of Dorchester, recalling how much she relied on her sister in recent years after her husband, Richard, was diagnosed with cancer. Richard died a few weeks ago.

“She would show up at hospice at 6 in the morning with coffee and doughnuts because I’d been up all night and hadn’t gotten sleep,’’ Waszkiewicz said. “She sat in the hospital with [him] whenever I couldn’t be there. After my husband’s death, we talked so much about the times I could now spend with her down the Cape. I am totally heartbroken with this unexpected loss.’’

Growing up in the Savin Hill section of Dorchester, Ms. Quinlivan graduated from Monsignor Ryan High School in 1971.

Ms. Quinlivan worked as an administrative assistant for Local 509 of the Service Employees International Union.

In 1978, upon the creation of the State Ethics Commission, Ms. Quinlivan was hired as an administrative assistant, the second person hired after executive director Maureen McGee.

Over the next three decades, she served as administrative assistant, head administrative assistant, and director of administrative services, before being promoted in 1995 to chief financial officer and chief of the statements of financial interest division.

“She was the epitome of a public servant,’’ said her cousin Mary F. Glynn of Dorchester. “It always impressed me in conversations with her that she was cautious of how money was spent and what it was spent on. She was always cognizant that it was taxpayers’ money.’’

Co-workers described her as a curious self-learner.

“Anne Marie had limitless energy; she solved problems before we even knew they existed, she cheerfully took on more and more responsibilities, and she always got results,’’ said Karen L. Nober, executive director of the Ethics Commission.

A co-worker of 21 years, David Giannotti, public education and communications division chief for the commission, said Ms. Quinlivan “single-handedly developed the information technology resources at the Ethics Commission.’’

“She didn’t just play an instrumental role; she did it,’’ he said. “She was entirely self-taught. She was curious, driven, and she would be able to figure out any problem.’’

For many years, Ms. Quinlivan contributed to Women for Women International, a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., teaching women from war-ravaged countries business skills, said her niece Kerri W. Dellisanti of Seattle.

“She exchanged letters with one particular woman in the Congo, who had lost her mother shortly after Anne Marie lost her mother,’’ she said in her eulogy. “Anne Marie provided comfort to this woman who was across the world by sharing her thoughts and feelings as they dealt with their losses. This was the person that Anne Marie was.’’

Ms. Quinlivan enjoyed swimming and sunning on the beaches of Cape Cod. She also enjoyed gardening and photography.

Ms. Quinlivan felt a strong connection with her Irish roots, decorating her home with cultural paintings and relics, said Waszkiewicz.

Besides her sister, niece, and cousin, Ms. Quinlivan leaves her father, Timothy of Milton, a nephew, two great-nephews, and many cousins.

Services have been held.