Irene Dodd Davis, 94, of Riddle Village in Media Pennsylvania died on December 8, 2020 from complications associated with Parkinson’s Disease.
Irene grew up in Upper Montclair New Jersey, the middle child of Edward Mills Dodd and Rose Wilson Dodd. Irene’s parents were raised in the Middle East, where their families were missionary physicians and educators. As Dr. Dodd was the head of the Presbyterian Church Board of Foreign Missions, many international guests visited the family, sharing special cuisine and fascinating stories and discussions with Irene and her brother and sister. Growing up in this socially engaged household, Irene became deeply committed to a life of outreach and service. Throughout her life, she continued to support those less fortunate. She lived her commitment, passing this way of life to her children and those with whom she interacted.
As Irene grew up, she and her family spent summers at Piney Point, their camp in the Adirondacks. This idyllic lakeside setting fostered Irene’s love of swimming, canoeing, hiking and a general love of nature and animals. This love of nature led Irene to girl scouting where she cultivated skills in identifying birds, flowers and trees, thereby becoming the lifelong “go to” source for identification. After her marriage, she and her husband, Bill, continued the summers in the Adirondacks with their family and the tradition persists with the generations that have followed.
Irene’s friends have shared that she was a vivacious teenager, who was a skilled jitterbugger, cheerleader, tennis player, actress and poet. She attended Cedar Crest College, majoring in Recreational Therapy. At Cedar Crest, she continued to act and won induction into the Thespian Honor Society in recognition of her performances in Greek tragedies and other productions. Irene’s creativity also found an outlet as a poet. Her poetry chronicled many life events and the emotions that flowed from them. Throughout her life, her poems were published in local newspapers and organizational newsletters. As a 90th birthday surprise, one of Irene’s poems was published by The Swarthmorean during “Poetry Month.” Additionally, her children presented Irene with a self-published volume of over 50 of her poems.
In Irene’s senior year at Cedar Crest College, she met a Muhlenberg student with whom she fell in love. Family tales abound of Bill and Irene’s love story, including a serenade of “Good Night Irene” by her fiancé Bill and his groomsmen under Irene’s bedroom window the night before their wedding. They were married on August 26th, 1950 at Central Presbyterian Church in Montclair. Irene then helped support Bill as he studied at the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia. During that time, Irene taught at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and led classes at the Philadelphia YWCA. After Bill was ordained a Lutheran minister, he was called to St Luke’s Lutheran Church in Dublin Pennsylvania, a rural farming community, where they learned to cultivate a huge garden and Irene learned the art of pie making from their parishioners.
Irene and Bill had four children while in Dublin. Sadly, their six year old son, Mark, was diagnosed in 1961 with a brain tumor and died shortly thereafter. Irene wrote and published a poignant poem to honor Mark and help work through her grief. Later the family moved to Kutztown (St. John’s Lutheran Church), and later to Phoenixville (St John’s Lutheran Church). During these years, Irene taught the developmentally disabled for the Chester County Intermediate Unit. She also continued to volunteer, produce church plays, teach Sunday School, swim, play tennis and ping pong, write poetry, enjoy her dogs and make pies!
After retirement, Irene and Bill moved to Media, Pennsylvania to be closer to their grandchildren. They joined Reformation Lutheran Church and actively participated in many programs of outreach and education. Irene became a substitute teacher and maintained a daily exercise regimen, including participating in a woman’s tennis league. She “adopted” some elderly individuals without family. Irene and Bill enjoyed the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Philadelphia Art Museum and the Phillies. Spending winters in Florida, Irene learned to play golf, continued her tennis and taught others how to square dance. She also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, served meals to the homeless and participated in adult literacy programs. Irene and Bill were always advocating for the disadvantaged, looking for ways to contribute their skills to “make lives better.” When they eventually decided to further “downsize”, Irene and Bill moved into independent living at Riddle Village in Media. There they met many new lifelong friends as they participated in multiple activities.
Irene fully engaged with her grandchildren, teaching them swimming, tennis and pingpong, making each one feel special along the way. She planned arts and crafts and “dress up” and acting days. She loved reading with her grandchildren and enjoyed teaching them the family songs. They, in turn, adored being with their “Gram.”
Her family will hold a special memorial service on September 11, 2021, with visitation at 10:30 am, followed by the service at 11 am at Reformation Lutheran Church in Media Pennsylvania. Please check with the church for potential COVID restrictions before attending. We look forward to honoring this remarkable woman, mother and dear friend. She is survived by daughters, Ellen Davis Conroy (Tom), Rebecca Prince Funk (Rob), and son, Evan Davis (Wendy), eight grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Bill, her husband of 68 years, predeceased Irene in 2018.
Contributions in her memory can be made to The Mark Davis Scholarship c/o Reformation Lutheran Church, 102 W Rose Tree Road, Media, Pennsylvania 19063 or The National Audubon Society (www.audubon.org).
Irene grew up in Upper Montclair New Jersey, the middle child of Edward Mills Dodd and Rose Wilson Dodd. Irene’s parents were raised in the Middle East, where their families were missionary physicians and educators. As Dr. Dodd was the head of the Presbyterian Church Board of Foreign Missions, many international guests visited the family, sharing special cuisine and fascinating stories and discussions with Irene and her brother and sister. Growing up in this socially engaged household, Irene became deeply committed to a life of outreach and service. Throughout her life, she continued to support those less fortunate. She lived her commitment, passing this way of life to her children and those with whom she interacted.
As Irene grew up, she and her family spent summers at Piney Point, their camp in the Adirondacks. This idyllic lakeside setting fostered Irene’s love of swimming, canoeing, hiking and a general love of nature and animals. This love of nature led Irene to girl scouting where she cultivated skills in identifying birds, flowers and trees, thereby becoming the lifelong “go to” source for identification. After her marriage, she and her husband, Bill, continued the summers in the Adirondacks with their family and the tradition persists with the generations that have followed.
Irene’s friends have shared that she was a vivacious teenager, who was a skilled jitterbugger, cheerleader, tennis player, actress and poet. She attended Cedar Crest College, majoring in Recreational Therapy. At Cedar Crest, she continued to act and won induction into the Thespian Honor Society in recognition of her performances in Greek tragedies and other productions. Irene’s creativity also found an outlet as a poet. Her poetry chronicled many life events and the emotions that flowed from them. Throughout her life, her poems were published in local newspapers and organizational newsletters. As a 90th birthday surprise, one of Irene’s poems was published by The Swarthmorean during “Poetry Month.” Additionally, her children presented Irene with a self-published volume of over 50 of her poems.
In Irene’s senior year at Cedar Crest College, she met a Muhlenberg student with whom she fell in love. Family tales abound of Bill and Irene’s love story, including a serenade of “Good Night Irene” by her fiancé Bill and his groomsmen under Irene’s bedroom window the night before their wedding. They were married on August 26th, 1950 at Central Presbyterian Church in Montclair. Irene then helped support Bill as he studied at the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia. During that time, Irene taught at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf and led classes at the Philadelphia YWCA. After Bill was ordained a Lutheran minister, he was called to St Luke’s Lutheran Church in Dublin Pennsylvania, a rural farming community, where they learned to cultivate a huge garden and Irene learned the art of pie making from their parishioners.
Irene and Bill had four children while in Dublin. Sadly, their six year old son, Mark, was diagnosed in 1961 with a brain tumor and died shortly thereafter. Irene wrote and published a poignant poem to honor Mark and help work through her grief. Later the family moved to Kutztown (St. John’s Lutheran Church), and later to Phoenixville (St John’s Lutheran Church). During these years, Irene taught the developmentally disabled for the Chester County Intermediate Unit. She also continued to volunteer, produce church plays, teach Sunday School, swim, play tennis and ping pong, write poetry, enjoy her dogs and make pies!
After retirement, Irene and Bill moved to Media, Pennsylvania to be closer to their grandchildren. They joined Reformation Lutheran Church and actively participated in many programs of outreach and education. Irene became a substitute teacher and maintained a daily exercise regimen, including participating in a woman’s tennis league. She “adopted” some elderly individuals without family. Irene and Bill enjoyed the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Philadelphia Art Museum and the Phillies. Spending winters in Florida, Irene learned to play golf, continued her tennis and taught others how to square dance. She also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, served meals to the homeless and participated in adult literacy programs. Irene and Bill were always advocating for the disadvantaged, looking for ways to contribute their skills to “make lives better.” When they eventually decided to further “downsize”, Irene and Bill moved into independent living at Riddle Village in Media. There they met many new lifelong friends as they participated in multiple activities.
Irene fully engaged with her grandchildren, teaching them swimming, tennis and pingpong, making each one feel special along the way. She planned arts and crafts and “dress up” and acting days. She loved reading with her grandchildren and enjoyed teaching them the family songs. They, in turn, adored being with their “Gram.”
Her family will hold a special memorial service on September 11, 2021, with visitation at 10:30 am, followed by the service at 11 am at Reformation Lutheran Church in Media Pennsylvania. Please check with the church for potential COVID restrictions before attending. We look forward to honoring this remarkable woman, mother and dear friend. She is survived by daughters, Ellen Davis Conroy (Tom), Rebecca Prince Funk (Rob), and son, Evan Davis (Wendy), eight grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. Bill, her husband of 68 years, predeceased Irene in 2018.
Contributions in her memory can be made to The Mark Davis Scholarship c/o Reformation Lutheran Church, 102 W Rose Tree Road, Media, Pennsylvania 19063 or The National Audubon Society (www.audubon.org).