Published in the October 19, 2016 edition
Beacon Hill activist for underprivileged helped found Haven From Hunger
LYNNFIELD — Gertrude Elizabeth “Trudy” MacIntyre of Lynnfield, 77, peacefully departed this life surrounded by her family on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016 after a long illness.
She was born in Dorchester on Thursday, Aug. 17, 1939 and graduated from Saint Gregory’s High School Class of 1957. Never one to give up on her dreams, she attended Merrimack College earning her BA degree in 1980. A Lynnfield resident since 1959, she was extremely active within her local community and Catholic Church, serving on numerous town boards and lay committees. One of her longest public commitments was to the Personnel Board of Lynnfield.
An aggressive behind-the-scenes activist on Beacon Hill, she played an instrumental role in helping draft and enact legislation which strengthened laws and regulations for the underprivileged throughout Massachusetts, extending her reach to both public and private sector entities that aid the poor. Over the course of her life, she was affiliated with countless community groups and nonprofit charities that served the disadvantaged throughout New England.
In 1985, she was one of several individuals who helped found Haven From Hunger in Peabody, a charitable association devoted to providing food to those in need. Propelled by her personal dedication, Haven from Hunger would become one of the Northeast’s largest and most enduring nonprofits. Initially serving as a board member, Mrs. MacIntyre was quickly named the organization’s first Executive Director, a position she cherished and held until her retirement in 2010. After decades of advocacy on behalf of the homeless, undernourished and less-fortunate, she was honored to be a personal guest of President George W. Bush at the White House in 2002, and had the privilege of attending a Presidential briefing on hunger in America post-9/11 as well as the signing of an Executive Order modeled after the Massachusetts’ Good Samaritan Act, a law she helped shepherd to passage in the Commonwealth.
She adored her family, which extended to several generations; loved the company of her many friends; and drew much comfort from her faith, music, reading, animals, nature and her backyard. Trudy was the eldest of four siblings and was the daughter of Hector D. and Mary A. (Hanning) MacDonald, previously of Dorchester. She is survived by her sister, Patricia “Tish” Stevenson of Wellesley; her brother, Alex H. MacDonald, Esq., and his wife, Dr. Maureen A. Strafford of Cambridge; her brother, William E. “Billy” MacDonald of San Jose, Costa Rica; her son, Daniel A. MacIntyre and his wife Michelle L. MacIntyre of Lynnfield; her son, David S. MacIntyre, Esq. and Jacqueline D. Sanders of Clinton; her grandchildren, Emily and James MacIntyre of Lynnfield; and numerous nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 10 a.m. at Saint Maria Goretti Catholic Church, 112 Chestnut St., Lynnfield, MA 01940 (781-598-4313). Trudy will be interred on Martha’s Vineyard privately. The island was a refuge and beloved destination for Trudy and her family where many happy memories where created over the years.
Trudy’s family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, memorial donations be made in her memory to Jumin, Inc. P.O. Box 43, Lynnfield, MA 01940 or please visit: www.j48.org/fundraisers.html, a family created nonprofit that was inspired by her lifelong empathy and untiring service to those in need for persons like her grandson with autistic disabilities.
