Elizabeth Clark Haskell McGlynn

Elizabeth Clark Haskell McGlynn, 70, of Celebration, Florida, passed away peacefully at home on July 18th, 2022, after a courageous and lengthy battle with cancer. A Celebration of Life service, followed by a casual gathering and lunch will be held on Saturday, August 20th, at 11am, at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Orlando, Florida. More details will be shared via Facebook and Evite when available.

Born August 16th, 1951, in Bath, Maine. Liz studied fashion design at Chamberlayne Junior College in Boston, Massachusetts. She later attended Eastern Connecticut State University, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, followed by the University of Connecticut, where she earned a master's degree in education.

During a visit to Connecticut, a family friend arranged for a blind date between Liz and Don “Casey” McGlynn. It happened to be on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1970. Although it was a rocky start – Don (according to Liz) was woefully underdressed and during the date spilled popcorn and soda on her! Lucky for Don, his good looks and sweet nature were convincing enough to earn him a second date. The rest, as they say, is history! Liz and Donald were married on August 18, 1973. Theirs is a story of true love and devotion. For nearly 49 years, they stood by each other, raised two children, dedicated their retirement years to four granddaughters, and had many amazing adventures together. Liz and Don created a love and light that inspired all who knew them. During the last year and a half of Liz’s life while she fought ovarian cancer, Don was always by Liz’s side, caring for her every need until her very last breath.

Liz taught elementary school for 31 years at Griswold Elementary School in Griswold, Connecticut. In her early days at GES, she taught fourth and fifth grade, but later transitioned to kindergarten. Liz adored this age group and spent most of her career teaching at this level. She was incredibly passionate about empowering young children and setting them up for a lifetime of success in learning. Her vibrant energy, bright personality, boisterous laugh, and creative talents enriched the lives of so many young people. Over of the course of her tenure at GES, Liz was nominated for “Teacher of the Year” and was involved in the “Best Program” for the state of Connecticut. She was also nominated for inclusion in “Who’s Who of American Teachers” and was selected to be showcased in the Manchester “Who’s Who Among Executive and Professional Women ‘Honors Edition’ Registry”.

Outside of the academic classroom, Liz directed and choreographed many award-winning children’s, high school, and community theater productions, earning a reputation as a children’s advocate in the dramatic arts. As part of the Griswold Players, Liz directed and performed in numerous plays including “Arsenic and Old Lace”, “Once Upon a Mattress”, and “South Pacific”. Liz was a gifted actress, singer, stage manager, director, and set designer. Her love of music and theater was apparent to anyone who knew her, and she traveled to New York at least once a year to attend Broadway shows.

At age 55, Liz decided it was the right time to move on from her career as an educator. She retired from teaching, but this was just the beginning! Her second profession as a pageant coach blossomed from her two daughters’ interest in pageants. What had begun in years prior when friends asked for help, eventually turned into a side business, and then the second act of her career! Liz founded “Elizabeth McGlynn, Professional Pageant Preparation, LLC”, and became a respected professional pageant coach, mentor, and life coach for young women. She gained an unparalleled reputation for her personal attention to every detail of the pageant experience. Her specialties included interview preparation, building self-confidence, public speaking, and stage presence for pageant competition. Liz coached girls and women to countless victories at the local, state, and national levels. Her success was so widespread that she was asked to comment on events in the pageantry world by CNN, MSNBC, the Dr. Oz and Dr. Phil shows, and MTV’s MADE. Liz truly believed in encouraging young women to see the possibilities within themselves and have the confidence and persistence to reach for their goals.

During her lifetime, Liz and Don built an amazing family. They lovingly raised two daughters, Kathleen, and Bethany, who were the pride and joy of Liz’s life. Their dreams were her dreams, and she would do anything to support, protect, encourage, and entertain them. Her greatest joy was simply spending time together, no matter what the activity. While Kathleen and Beth were growing up, Liz attended and often assisted at countless dance and piano recitals, theater productions, dance competitions, basketball games, cheerleading events, graduations, and pageants. She designed and made countless Halloween costumes, birthday cakes, and even pageant gowns. Holidays and birthdays were a big deal to Liz, and it was very important to her that these times were celebrated and special. She inspired her daughters to always do their best, work hard, persevere, and “be upbeat and bubbly”!

The McGlynn family lived in Preston, Connecticut at their house on River Road for 44 years. Liz and Don later bought a townhouse in Celebration, Florida. They went back and forth between both homes for several years before finally moving to Celebration full-time. Selling the house in Preston and moving to Florida was a lot of work, but truly a dream made real. It was Liz and Don’s goal for many years to retire and move to Celebration, as Disney was always their special happy place! In Celebration, Liz and Don met many wonderful neighbors who became a close network of friends. The love and support of this new community meant so much to Liz, and truly helped make the new house feel like home.

Over the years, Liz and Don cared for many pets, from their first fur-baby, Spike the cat, to their dog Fluffy, goldfish, pheasants, ducks, and later their cats Ozzie, Miles, Harry, and Emma. Liz loved and cared deeply for all her animals. They were truly part of the family!

Liz’s granddaughters were the light of her life. They brought an immense amount of joy and entertainment. Liz was incredibly engaged in their lives and known first as “D”, then “Grandma D”, “Grandma”, and later the very hip “G-Ma”. Liz babysat for Kathleen and Roger’s girls, Lily and Juliette (now ages 14 and 12), twice a week until they began school. She continued babysitting even after they were in school, getting them off the bus every Wednesday. Grandma did the heavy lifting while Grandpa “escaped” mid-day. They had many special traditions, including tea parties, walks to the park, trips to the carousel at Buckland Hills Mall, card games such as “Cheat”, collecting Box Tops for school, and baking Christmas cookies.

In 2020, when Beth and Mike transitioned to working and kid-wrangling full-time from home, Liz and Don spent seven months running “Grandma and Grandpa School” for Savannah and Charlotte (now ages 6 and 4). Liz ran the show, from the daily morning meeting to Grandma-D’s lessons, while Don was lead play-instructor and recharge-time initiator. They made a great team and the “Littles” were thrilled to spend time with Grandma-D and Grandpa! Pre and post-COVID, Liz loved attending the Littles’ soccer games and swim lessons, picking blueberries, taking secret trips to Dunkin’ Donuts after Tuesday daycare pickup, and just watching the kids play together and break stuff for Don to fix.

Liz’s creativity and talents were extensive. One of her most recent hobbies was cake artistry. She created beautiful and extravagant cakes for many occasions, particularly birthday cakes for her four granddaughters. Liz spent hours designing, baking and decorating delicious custom cakes that made special events even more special, year after year.

Liz is survived by her loving husband, Donald McGlynn, daughters Kathleen Neama and Bethany Corcoran, sons-in-law Roger Neama and Mike Corcoran, and granddaughters Lily and Juliette Neama, Savannah and Charlotte Corcoran. Liz will be greatly missed, and her beautiful spirit lives on through the hearts, stories, and memories of those she cherished. In her final days, she was surrounded by the love of her family, friends, and neighbors in her home, which will forever be filled with Liz’s presence and zest for life.

Service followed by a casual gathering and lunch, also at St. Luke's United Methodist Church. Please see details and RSVP here:

http://evite.me/UnwAh7MPXd

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, March of Dimes, or American Cancer Society, as Liz was involved in raising funds for these organizations throughout her life.