Irene Thorp MacDonald, 93, of Maitland, Fla., died peacefully at the home of her daughter on Feb. 20, 2013. She will always be remembered by her family as a woman truly ahead of her time. She graduated from law school in the forties when most women never went to college. She served her country in the South Pacific during World War II; created and managed her own businesses when few women worked outside the home and raised four children along the way.
Irene was born June 2, 1919, in Dorchester, Mass., the daughter of Elizabeth Ann and John William Thorp. After graduating from Weymouth High School in Weymouth, Mass., in 1937, she attended the New England School of Law (Portia Law School). She graduated in 1941 with high honors and an L.L.B. degree, and became a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association.
She joined the Red Cross in 1943, volunteered for foreign service and was sent to the South Pacific in 1944 as a recreational worker for service clubs/canteens in New Caledonia, the Russell Islands and Guadalcanal. She chronicled her experiences in a series of “Life in the South Pacific” columns for the Patriot Quincy Ledger newspaper.
After returning to the U.S. in 1945, she married Elmer George MacDonald, a Master Sergeant in the Army Air Corps and Bronze Star recipient. They settled in Norwell, Mass., raised four children, opened MacDonald Motor Services, and built and managed “The Glen”, a park for mobile homes from 1952 to 1982.
In 1962, the family moved to Old Lyme, Conn., where Irene went to work for the State of Connecticut. After retiring from the State Welfare Department, she obtained her real estate broker’s license and ran her own business, Lyme Realty Company, for many years.
Six years after Elmer’s 1981 death, she married Leland H. Reynolds, a successful automobile dealer and landowner. During her second marriage, she was active in the Lyme Garden Club, the Lyme Book Club, and a local bridge group and was a literacy volunteer. She also gave of her time and prepared tax returns for the elderly on a volunteer basis.
Irene was known throughout her life for her generosity to others, her buoyant spirit, her ready laugh, her curiosity and her readiness to try something new. An avid reader, she was always ready for a current affairs discussion or review of the latest book. She was an oil painter, a writer, a poet, and loved to dance – even being voted “Best Dancer” at Portia Law School.
She was preceded in death by her brother Arthur Thorp and her late husband Leland Reynolds. She is survived by her children: James Marc MacDonald and wife Jean of Alameda, Calif., Marsha MacDonald of Maitland, Fla., John MacDonald and wife Karen of Amherst, N.H., and Matthew MacDonald and wife Sandra of Cape Coral, Fla., seven beloved grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held in Maitland, Fla. Burial in Duck River Cemetery and a Celebration of Life will be held in Old Lyme at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to the Lymes’ Senior Center, 26 Town Woods Rd., PO Box 597, Old Lyme, CT 06371.