Frances Glading McIntosh Davies, 97, of Vero Beach, passed away at her home on July 3, 2016, surrounded by family.
She is survived by her daughters Gaye Ludwig of Vero Beach and Linda McIntosh of Dedham, Mass.; son and daughter-in-law James and Louise McIntosh of Bexley, Ohio; son-in-law William Carr of Davenport, Iowa; 10 grandchildren: Chad (Mia) Carr of Davenport, Iowa, Lauren Larsen of Red Deer, Alberta, Brian (Kati) Carr of Shawnee, Kan., Elena (Josh) Gallon of Portland, Oregon, Margaret McIntosh and Kayleigh McIntosh of Columbus, Ohio, Jack (Kelly) Ludwig of Denver, Colo., Julia (Dan) Ludwig-Igoe of New York, N.Y., Amelia Whalen of Dedham, Mass., and Zachary Whalen of Tivoli, N.Y.; and nine great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her first husband James Boyd McIntosh who died unexpectedly in 1984, and her second husband, Samuel Floyd Davies who died in 1998 after a long illness; daughter Judith McIntosh Carr, who died suddenly on April 2, 2016; and her sister Jane Creighton who died in 1983.
McIntosh Davies was born in Milton, Mass., on Feb. 24, 1919, to Elsie Davis and William Wilson Glading, a salesman for the Stetson Hat Company. She graduated from Katherine Gibbs School in Boston. There she learned to write business letters, an art she practiced throughout her life as she sent words of praise, encouragement and suggestions to family and colleagues.
In 1938 at a dance, she “fell in love at first sight” when she saw her Jimmy “across a crowded room.” They married at her parents’ home in Wollaston, Mass., in February, 1943 and crisscrossed the country while he trained as an Army Air Corp navigator bound for the Pacific. Later, pregnant with their first child, she fainted at the moment his B-24 was shot down during the air assault on Balikpapan in October of 1944.
After the war, she and Jim settled in Wollaston, Needham, and then Wellesley, Mass., before moving in 1967 to Columbus, Ohio where Jim’s new role as President of Midland Mutual Life took them.
A busy mother of four, McIntosh Davies was an active volunteer, taking turns in Girl Scout green and hospital pink while continuing to pursue her earliest passions — movies, popular music, bridge and parties. She also developed new loves – travel and golf – that she enjoyed as she accompanied Jim to business conventions across the country. After one such convention in Fort Lauderdale in 1981, they drove north so Jim could show her the Ocean Grill in Vero Beach. A fortuitous stop at the Moorings Realty office led to their move and eventual retirement to Vero Beach.
She was a former member of the Dedham Country and Polo Club and the Columbus Country Club. She was a member of The Moorings Club in Vero Beach where she once held the record for holes-in-one (5).
“I didn’t hit long, but I hit straight,” she was proud to say. She was active in the Sea Oats Garden Club for many years. Until just before her passing, she continued to work out three times a week with her trainer at the Moorings Club Fitness Center.
She had an unquenchable appetite for learning. She traveled the globe with her husbands, friends, daughters and by herself on Elderhostel senior learning programs. She read the New York Times every day until her vision made that difficult. To the end, she was keen for a dinner out or a chat with family and friends.
A private memorial service for family and friends will be held on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016 at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens in Fort Pierce. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Scholarship Foundation of Indian River County, PO Box 1820, Vero Beach, FL 32961. A guestbook is available at www.lowtherfuneralhome.com/obituaries.
