McIntyre

Eileen A. McIntyre, 91, formerly of Renfrew, passed away at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday at the VNA Inpatient Hospice.

She was born Aug. 2, 1920, in Plaistow, England, to the late Albert Davies and Alice Nash Davies.

When World War II began in September 1939, Eileen was a teenager. The war quickly came to her as her family home was a suburb of London and there was a Royal Air Force fighter base practically in her backyard.

In June 1940, Eileen and her family went to nearby ports to see the beaten British and French armies that had been evacuated miraculously from Dunkirk, France. She witnessed beaten, bloody, filthy, weaponless troops as they poured into England thankful for their lives. Hitler now planned to invade England.

Two weeks later, his Luftwaffe began the bombing of British cities. Her family home was routinely bombed by the German Luftwaffe when they began the bombings of civilians in June 1940 and once was hit and damaged. Eileen and her family spent many hours in bomb shelters. During a Sunday visit to the local RAF fighter base to deliver magazines and food to troops manning anti-aircraft facilities, Eileen and her friend were strafed by a German fighter plane. The pilot was so close to the ground they could see his face.

Eileen went to work in London for insurer Lloyd's of London where it was her job to plot the many ships and hundreds of thousands of tons insured by Lloyds that were being blown up by German submarines.

German bombing was relentless and continued through the summer, forcing Lloyds to transfer the offices to the suburbs. It was a daily experience for Eileen and her colleagues to see the London skies filled with German and British fighters and bombers in dogfights that created a patchwork sky of airplane vapor. She had a veritable front row seat.

In September 1940, Eileen became trapped in the largest and most lethal German bombing of London. She barely survived that ordeal, and later that month the Germans gave up their plans to invade England. The British had won the Battle of Britain, and Eileen had a front-row seat all the time.

She entered the British Women's Army Corp in 1943, 46th Anti Aircraft Battalion, posted to the Anti-Aircraft Headquarters, Western Command headquarters in Bristol. She met Harold B. McIntyre of Butler while stationed at Bristol on Gen. Brady's staff. They were married on April 1, 1945, in England. They returned to Butler after the war to start their family.

Mrs. McIntyre was a member of St. Marks Evangelical Lutheran Church, where she volunteered in the office and at Katie's Kitchen for many years. She volunteered at Butler Meals on Wheels and was a member of the quilters guild at Dunbar Community Center.

Eileen enjoyed sewing, baking, gardening, traveling and reading, but most of all she loved spending time with her family.

Mrs. McIntyre is survived by one son, Richard McIntyre of Auburn, N.Y.; two daughters, Patricia Foringer of Butler and Susan Evans and her husband, John, of Butler; eight grandchildren, Lindsay McIntyre of Atlanta, Ga., Stephen McIntyre and his wife, Colleen, of Cortland, N.Y., Jay Foringer and his wife, Trena, of Munroe Falls, Ohio, Matt Foringer and his wife, Beth, of Seven Fields, Chris Foringer and his wife, Julia of Butler, Christine Cochran of Butler, Melissa McAnallen and her husband, Clay, of Butler and Allison Whelan and her husband, Chris, of Connoquenessing; one step-granddaughter, Kennedy Evans of Butler; three great-grandchildren, Julia and Jack Foringer of Munroe Falls, Ohio, and Nathan McAnallen of Butler; one sister, Joy Tidman; and several nieces and nephews in Butler and England. She was also excited to be awaiting the arrival of a new great-grandchild due in July

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death her husband, Harold B. McIntyre, who passed away June 28, 1986, and a son-in-law, Chad Foringer.

<B>MCINTYRE</B> — Friends of Eileen A. McIntyre, who passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, will be received from 1 to 3 and 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at <B>Thompson-Miller Funeral Home</B>, 124 E. North St., Butler.Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the funeral home with the Rev. Dr. Alden Towberman, officiating. Burial will take place in Butler County Memorial Park.Memorial donations may be made to Dunbar Community Center, 501 Fairground Hill, Butler, PA 16001 or to St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 201 W. Jefferson St., Butler, PA 16001.Information and a private guest book are available at www.thompson-miller.com.