Jean Otto MacIntosh

Jean Otto MacIntosh of Irvington served honorably in the United States Navy WAVES from 1943 to 1946 during World War II as an Ensign O-1.

Ms. MacIntosh was born on October 3, 1919 in Naples, New York, in the Finger Lakes, and attended Keuka College for Women, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1941.

After enlisting in the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) in September 1943 and completing boot camp at Hunter College in the Bronx, Ms. MacIntosh was stationed in Atlanta, Georgia. She received training as a Control Tower Operator and was assigned to a post in air traffic control at the Charleston Naval Air Station in South Carolina. She then trained as an officer at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and St. Simon’s Island, Georgia,
and was commissioned as an Ensign O-1. She was stationed at Vero Beach, Florida and served as an air traffic controller for the naval fighter pilot training program, instructing pilots in how to use radar for night missions.

While stationed at Vero Beach, she met Naval Lieutenant Herbert George MacIntosh, who had just returned from two years of active duty in the Pacific Theater. The couple tied the knot on March 23, 1946 and honeymooned in Cuba, then returned to New York and lived in Dobbs Ferry. They settled down with their family in Irvington in 1974, and enjoyed 54 years of marriage.

For nearly 80 years, Ms. MacIntosh has been a staple of life in Irvington. She launched the Irvington Meals on Wheels program in 1975, overseeing the operation for more than two decades before it was administered through the Town of Greenburgh. 

She is known for her involvement in local organizations, including the Cub Scouts, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), the Irvington Historical Society, Westchester Genealogical Society, Dobbs Ferry Garden Club, and the
Irvington Presbyterian Church. An avid and accomplished curler, Ms. MacIntosh competed in international competitions up to the age of 94 as a member of the Senior Ladies International Curling Club.