Margaret Irene Wegner (105) – resident of Wellesley for more than 50 years, recently a resident at North Hill in Needham, died on Wednesday, May 9th, at 105 years of age. Mrs. Wegner was the wife of the late Walter R. Wegner, MD, and mother of Gretchen Reed, Karen Porter, Mary Mayer, and Robert K. Wegner. She was the devoted grandmother of nine fine young people, and particularly proud of her thirteen great-grandchildren.
Irene Wegner was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England in 1907. In 1909, she came to the United States with her parents and older bother, Jack Clarke. The family settled in York Harbor, Maine, where she grew up and attended school. Later, Irene also attended Boston Latin School for Girls, Dean College (1924), and Katherine Gibbs School in Providence, RI. She was employed by Old Colony Bank in Providence as a currency transfer specialist at the time of the 1929 financial market crash.
In 1935, Margaret Irene Clarke married Walter Robert Wegner, MD, who later became Chief of Neurosurgery at Boston City Hospital, and at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. She served as a member of the Social Services Committee of Boston City Hospital. Mrs. Wegner was a Member of the Daughters of the British Empire, served as President of the Wellesley Garden Club, and was a Senior Docent in the Wellesley College Art Department. She continued her art history interests as a member and Chair of the Art Committee during her residence at North Hill in Needham.
A passionate traveler, Irene Wegner explored all through Europe with a special love for Portugal and Sicily. Her sense of adventure took her to the pyramids in Egypt, the heights of Isreal’s Masada, the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Wall of China, and finally, on her 80th birthday, to the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. She continued to be alert and engaged with family and world events up to the time of her death.
A gathering to celebrate Irene Wegner’s life will be held on Saturday, June 2nd, from 2-4 o’clock in the Auditorium at North Hill, 865 Central Ave., Needham, MA 02492. In lieu of flowers, a memorial gift may be made to Wellesley College Art Department (Wellesley College, 106 Central St., Wellesley, MA, 02181) or to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, (79 Denton St., Wellesley, MA 02182).
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