Obituary

Jane McConaghy, nee McLaughlin, died on December 16, 2020 at age 96. She was the daughter of Edgar and Myra Keenan McLaughlin. She lived her entire life in northern Chester County and was a Daughter of the American Revolution.

Jane had a quick, sharp mind and a feisty and down-to-earth spirit till the end. She developed close and caring relationships with fellow church members, family members, and the girls she helped raise. She was an interesting conversationalist with a breadth of knowledge that included family and local history.

When she was 20 years old, her parents gave up farming and moved into the Village of Glenmoore. During the 1940s, you needed an operator to place any phone call; Jane wrote eloquently about working as an operator for eight years, until direct dialing began in Glenmoore in 1950.

In 1952, Jane married Charles McConaghy who died two years later in a car crash. Jane did clerical work for a decade, and then she and her mother ran a sewing and tailoring business working out of their home. In 1984, she and her mother entered Tel Hai retirement community outside of Honey Brook. Because she was her mother's caretaker, she entered Tel Hai at younger than the minimum age; thus, she had become the longest-tenured Tel Hai resident. Until she was hospitalized 11 days before her death, she lived independently in her cottage for 36 years.

She stayed active: after her mother died in 1988 she worked for 15 years as the caretaker for three girls who were the granddaughters of a childhood friend and became their adopted grandmother, she made tailored clothing and did sewing work for a few select clients; and she researched genealogy.

Jane was a member of the Forks of the Brandywine Church for over 80 years, except for a brief stint in the early 1950's at nearby Fairview Presbyterian, her husband's church. She became a Church member when she was 12 years old and her Christian beliefs and Church family were the bedrock from which she successfully navigated societal changes from riding to and from a one room school house by horse and buggy to calling friends and family on her cell phone and paying bills using modern technology.

Music was an integral part of her life. She sang in the Forks of the Brandywine Church choir for over 50 years and was a member of the Coatesville Choraliers for several decades.

Jane leaves behind blood and adopted relatives of the Taylor, Cremers and Morse families and the members of her Church family.

Jane's family is planning a Celebration of Life service in 2021 when people can travel and gather safely.