Tributes

Gretna Davis McKeighan Paul of Dunwoody Village, Newtown Square died Saturday, December 15th of pancreatic cancer. She was the wife of John T. Paul and the late James W. McKeighan, Jr. Born in Bryn Mawr, she had also resided in Penn Wynne and Havertown, before moving to Newtown Square with her first husband in the early 1980s. She was the daughter of Gretna Thompson Davis and L. Elbie Davis of Bryn Mawr. In addition to her husband, John T. Paul, she is survived by her sons, James W. McKeighan, III (Patricia) of East Coventry, David A. McKeighan (Rene), of West Chester, and Robert S. McKeighan (Donna) of Newtown Square, a stepson, John T. Paul, Jr. (Maya) of Churchville, Maryland and her sister, Lois Kelley of Lafayette Hill. An active community volunteer, she had worked on local blood drives for the American Red Cross for many years and served her church as a Deacon, member of the Sacristy Guild, Counter, and Circle Member. For several years, she worked each month making packaged dinners in the “Aid for Friends” program also at the Newtown Square Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Paul was also active in the Newtown Square Women’s Club and had served on the Resident’s Board at Dunwoody Village and enjoyed working on their annual Holiday Bazaar. She was secretary for her Lower Merion High School reunion committee, class of 1943. In the late 1960s, she and a friend, decided to take a seasonal job at B. Altman & Co. in St. David’s. She so enjoyed the work and the camaraderie of her coworkers that she stayed until the store ceased operations in the 1980s. Her first husband, James W. McKeighan, Jr. died suddenly in 1986. At a picnic of the Ardmore Optimist Club, she was reintroduced to John T. Paul, then of Bryn Mawr. Mr. Paul remembers her from their youth in the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, where he ushered and often saved her a seat in the rear of the church. Since he was her senior by eleven years, her parents would not allow them to date. In 1990, they married in the first service in the newly remodeled Newtown Square Church. Their seventeen year marriage allowed them to travel extensively and to spend winter vacations in Sarasota. In addition to her husband, sons, and stepson, she is survived by seven grandchildren: Laurie McKeighan Belanger, Leigh McKeighan Hamilton, Lindsay McKeighan, Jennifer McKeighan, James R. McKeighan, Jonathan McKeighan, and Kevin McKeighan. She is also survived by two great grandsons, Wyatt Belanger and Ryan Belanger. The funeral service is scheduled for Saturday, December 22nd at 11 a.m. in the Newtown Square Presbyterian Church, corner of 252 & Goshen Rd., Newtown Square, PA 19073. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the American Cancer Society, 1615 West Chester Pike, West Chester, PA 19382 or the Newtown Square Church would be appreciated.

Tributes

Gretna Davis McKeighan Paul

November 29, 1925 - December 15, 2007