M. Irene Ledwith Dinoto, 81 a lifelong resident of Pawcatuck died Tuesday, October 18th at the Lawrence and Memorial Hospitals in New London.
Born Mary Irene Ledwith in Hartford, Ct, on May 24, 1924 she was a daughter of Charles and Mae Fitzgerald Ledwith. Irene graduated from Saint Michael’s Parochial School in Pawcatuck and was a 1942 graduate of Stonington High School. She received her bachelor’s degree from the former Willimantic State Teacher’s College (now Eastern CT State).
She was married to Angelo Thomas Dinoto at St. Michael’s Church in 1948. He died on St. Patrick’s Day, 1994.
Irene’s teaching career in the Town of Stonington spanned over four decades. She held positions as an elementary school teacher in the Stonington School System at West Broad, Stonington Borough and West Vine Schools. She also taught at St. Michael’s in Pawcatuck for several years at a time when the school was almost exclusively staffed by the Sisters of Mercy. Her students remember her as a strict but devoted teacher who made a distinct impact on their lives. Deeply proud of her Irish heritage, a pride she instilled in her children, Irene was a longtime member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Even her husband, a son of Sicilian immigrants, was persuaded to wear green on each St. Patrick’s Day.
In her retirement, Irene was an avid Bridge player in the Westerly-Pawcatuck community. Throughout her lifetime, she loved spending summer days with her family at the beach in Misquamicut and enjoyed clamming and crabbing there, as well as fresh-water fishing. Her other hobbies included knitting and crocheting and more recently she enjoyed painting with acrylics.
Irene was an active volunteer at the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center and was a member of the Red Hat Society. She was a communicant of St. Michael’s Roman Catholic Church in Pawcatuck and was a past member of its Ladies Guild.
She is survived by four children; James C. Dinoto of Pawcatuck, The Rev. Anthony C. Dinoto and his wife Susan of Ledyard, Angelo F. Dinoto of Hawaii and Nancy Peterle and her husband Miles of Stonington. She leaves five grandchildren: Katharine Dinoto Jones, Eleanor Ledwith Dinoto and Sydney Payne Dinoto of Ledyard, Ryan James Peterle and David Agustus* Peterle of Stonington; one great-granddaughter Hannah Brooke Jones; her brothers and sisters in-laws: Hank and Josephine O’Briant, Cal and Mary Jones, Margaret Dinoto and many nieces and nephews.
Her family will greet relatives and friends at The Dinoto Funeral Home, 17 Pearl Street, Historic downtown Mystic Friday from 5-7p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Michael’s Church, Pawcatuck on Saturday at 10am. There will be no procession from the funeral home. Burial will follow in St. Michael’s Cemetery. Memorial gifts in lieu of flowers may be directed to Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center, 27 Chase Street, Pawcatuck CT 06379.
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