Inamary McCann Sweeney, 90, whose long life had many chapters – figure skater, equestrian, fashion model, doctor's wife, mother of four children, party hostess and fundraiser, investor, chanteuse, and intrepid world traveler died peacefully on March 5, 2015 surrounded by friends and family in Greenwich, CT.
Mrs. Sweeney, whom everyone knew as Ina, was born in Brockton, Mass on May 10, 1924, the only daughter of Clement Locke McCann and Marie (White) McCann. The McCann family and their cousins spent summers at her Aunt Ina (McCann) McElaney's home in Onset, near Cape Cod, where she sailed and swam in ocean waters and later built a summer house in Cotuit, MA.
She became an accomplished figure skater at the Boston Skating Club, and was an avid downhill skier at slopes in the Blue Hills nearby and in North Conway, N.H. After attending Brockton schools, she graduated from Garland College in Boston and the French School of Design in New York where she worked as a model. With her zest for life, Ina won immediate acceptance in New York circles of fashion, entertainment and media.
In September, 1947, she married Dr. John D. Sweeney, of Waltham, Mass., who became chief of surgery at Waltham Hospital. Active in fundraising for Boston area charities and museums, Ina served as vice chairman of the Massachusetts Speech and Hearing Foundation. Her annual Ice Follies party at the family's Tudor home in Newton, MA, with live music and Ina's singing – her signature song was "Yellow Bird" – often gained notice in the society pages of Boston newspapers.
As a globetrotting tourist she visited world capitals, but reveled in extensive stays at frontier locations like Rumania, Cambodia, Tunisia, and the Indian citystate Goa.
Survivors include Paul Sweeney, of Austin, TX; Constance Sweeney Clephane and Thomas P. Clephane of Greenwich, CT; Ann Sweeney Chester-Jones and Hugh Chester-Jones, of Waseca, MN; and John Sweeney, of South Dennis, MA, and seven grandchildren. Her younger brother, Capt. Clement L. McCann died in 2004.