|
Irene E. MacPherson, lovingly known as Mama Mac, 101, died peacefully at her home with her loving family beside her on March 29, 2011. She was born July 7, 1909 in LaJuanta, CO, the daughter of S.K. and Cleo M. Hill Wood. Early in her life she lived in Hollywood Hills, CA. On a tour of the area in 2009, she and her family were on a bus touring the L.A. area, she informed the bus driver where to turn to get to her old house. She had remembered that for over 70 years. She was a 1928 graduate of Hutchinson High School. She had worked for Pegues as a salesperson in the Jewelry and hosiery departments. As a child, she had attended First United Methodist Church, Hutchinson. She loved to travel. One of her great joys was riding the train. She loved to sleep on the train in the compartments at night, kick her feet back and watch the world go by from the observation car during the day. She took three such trips in the last year. Her favorite trip was to Scotland where she treated her family to the trip to show them where the MacPherson name originated. At the time of her death, she was planning a trip with her family to Australia and Malasia. In the last two years, she had traveled with her family to California, Washington, D.C., and Williamsburg, VA. She frequently took cookies to the Hutchinson News Herald for the whole staff. Jack Harris frequently requested she bring cookies. She was known for making many kinds of cookies for every occasion and especially pralines. For fun, she loved winning slot machines in casinos and any kind of cards, especially Texas Hold 'Em. She was also a pet lover of cats and dogs, having a pet most of her life. She was a pleasant, loving, generous, and caring lady, never saying anything negative about anyone. Her husband worked for the Hutchinson News Herald for 42 years as advertising manager. Irene loved the newspaper and read it from cover to cover every day. In the end when she wasn't able to read it, she had Kal read it to her and her interests in the paper never waned. She married Kenneth MacPherson (the love of her life) on June 1, 1946 in Wichita. He died August 1, 1977. Survivors include her family Gretchen and Kal Singh, Hutchinson; three nieces, Nancy Stark, Huntington Beach, CA, Goldie Hill, Albuquerque, NM, and Shirley Schmidt, Hutchinson; a nephew, Claude Taggart, Calimessa, CA, two grand-nieces, Claudia Sutton and Mary Stark, California, Juneau, AL; two grand-nephews, Tom Taggart, Idaho and Charles Stark; and several other grand-nieces and nephews and many good friends. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Fletcher Wood and a nephew Bud Hill. Graveside services will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday at Fairlawn Burial Park, Hutchinson with Pastor Jeanine Rishel presiding. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Friday at Penwell-Gabel Funeral Home and Crematory, Hutchinson. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Reno County in care of the funeral home. To leave a message for the family, visit: www.PenwellGabelHutchinson.com.
|
