Jeanne Mcdonagh
May 17, 1920 — February 7, 2014
Jeanne McDonagh, whose life was marked by her commitment to work, infectious sense of humor, and a gift for forging friendships died in St. Camillus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Stamford CT on February 7, 2014 after a long illness. She was 93.
The fourth daughter of Joseph B. McDonagh and Loretta Hopkins McDonagh, she was born in Linden, NJ on May 17, 1920. She often said she learned everything early, including how to smoke, drink and drive. Somehow this was balanced with a profound spiritual devotion.
At the age of 24 Jeanne enlisted in the WAVES, or "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service," forming part of a remarkable group of women who served in the wartime Navy. As a commissioned officer she worked the graveyard shift in a code room in lower Manhattan as a member of a secret communications unit.
In the late 1940s, McDonagh moved to Washington to work for her aunt, Rep. Mary T. Norton, the first Democratic woman Member of Congress. McDonagh served as staff to the powerful House Administration Committee, which Norton chaired until she retired in 1951.
Speaking to a gathering of EMILY's List donors in 2007, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quoted a letter she received from McDonagh about her aunt's example and wishing Pelosi "the wisdom to know the right things to do and the courage and fortitude to carry them out."
In the 1950s, McDonagh returned to New York City and worked a succession of jobs in the fashion industry, including several years as assistant beauty editor at Glamour magazine, and subsequently as a buyer at Lord & Taylor and other department stores. In this period of her life, Jeanne’s innate sense of style came to the fore and her appreciation for the New York Mets was cemented. She also worked briefly as a traveling saleswoman, and spoke of enjoying her independence as she criss-crossed the Eastern Seaboard selling fine cashmere sweaters.
In the 1980’s she moved to Greenwich, where she worked for 17 years for the military broker Dunham & Smith, rising to the position of executive assistant to the chair. In later years, she lived in Stamford where she visited frequently with her close circle of friends, and her adoring nieces and nephews.
No longer challenged by her job in 1999 she applied to work for Rep. Christopher Shays, who hired her within days of receiving her resume, despite their political differences. When interviewed about her work for the Republican congressman, McDonagh, a lifelong Democrat, explained that Shays was “… a statesman, not a politician."
Until her retirement in 2002, she was the only permanent staff member at the congressman's Stamford office and handled outreach to constituents, as well as his calendar.
"I'm certainly not going to go home and play bridge," McDonagh told a reporter upon retiring at age 82, which to her family was an ironic statement, given her demonstrated prowess at the game.
She is survived by her nieces Susan Murphy, Jennifer Whitaker, Nancy Ross and Sally Glew and nephews Michael Seymour, Anthony Seymour, Edmund Burke, Joseph Burke and Gregory Burke. She was adored by 25 surviving great nieces and nephews, and 20 grand nieces and nephews.
The fourth daughter of Joseph B. McDonagh and Loretta Hopkins McDonagh, she was born in Linden, NJ on May 17, 1920. She often said she learned everything early, including how to smoke, drink and drive. Somehow this was balanced with a profound spiritual devotion.
At the age of 24 Jeanne enlisted in the WAVES, or "Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service," forming part of a remarkable group of women who served in the wartime Navy. As a commissioned officer she worked the graveyard shift in a code room in lower Manhattan as a member of a secret communications unit.
In the late 1940s, McDonagh moved to Washington to work for her aunt, Rep. Mary T. Norton, the first Democratic woman Member of Congress. McDonagh served as staff to the powerful House Administration Committee, which Norton chaired until she retired in 1951.
Speaking to a gathering of EMILY's List donors in 2007, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quoted a letter she received from McDonagh about her aunt's example and wishing Pelosi "the wisdom to know the right things to do and the courage and fortitude to carry them out."
In the 1950s, McDonagh returned to New York City and worked a succession of jobs in the fashion industry, including several years as assistant beauty editor at Glamour magazine, and subsequently as a buyer at Lord & Taylor and other department stores. In this period of her life, Jeanne’s innate sense of style came to the fore and her appreciation for the New York Mets was cemented. She also worked briefly as a traveling saleswoman, and spoke of enjoying her independence as she criss-crossed the Eastern Seaboard selling fine cashmere sweaters.
In the 1980’s she moved to Greenwich, where she worked for 17 years for the military broker Dunham & Smith, rising to the position of executive assistant to the chair. In later years, she lived in Stamford where she visited frequently with her close circle of friends, and her adoring nieces and nephews.
No longer challenged by her job in 1999 she applied to work for Rep. Christopher Shays, who hired her within days of receiving her resume, despite their political differences. When interviewed about her work for the Republican congressman, McDonagh, a lifelong Democrat, explained that Shays was “… a statesman, not a politician."
Until her retirement in 2002, she was the only permanent staff member at the congressman's Stamford office and handled outreach to constituents, as well as his calendar.
"I'm certainly not going to go home and play bridge," McDonagh told a reporter upon retiring at age 82, which to her family was an ironic statement, given her demonstrated prowess at the game.
She is survived by her nieces Susan Murphy, Jennifer Whitaker, Nancy Ross and Sally Glew and nephews Michael Seymour, Anthony Seymour, Edmund Burke, Joseph Burke and Gregory Burke. She was adored by 25 surviving great nieces and nephews, and 20 grand nieces and nephews.
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