Pauline McIntosh

Winter Haven, Fla. - Pauline McIntosh, 80, died Oct. 28, 2002, at the Life Care Center of Winter Haven.

Born Oct. 1, 1922, in Portageville, Mo., daughter of the late Rev. Daniel Marion Tidwell Smith and Ollie Beatrice McMillen Smith, she attended Wayne State University and Walsh Institute of Accounting in Detroit, Mich. A former member of the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Englewood and Redemption Lutheran Church in Detroit, she was currently a member of the Grace Lutheran Church in Winter Haven.

Mrs. McIntosh had worked in the publicity department of a Kaiser Shipyard in San Francisco, Calif., during World War II and had been a secretary for Millsmith Industries in Detroit. She earned her private pilot's license and flew her own Tri-Pacer for more than 10 years. She also operated Yacht Leasing on Lake St. Clair. For five years, she was executive assistant to the president of Cadillac Gage Company in Warren, Mich. During that time, she went to South Vietnam in 1964 and made preliminary studies on establishing a tire plant in conjunction with the Ohio Mansfield Tire Company and also for a cement compound in the Saigon area. While in Saigon, she helped to write the technical test report on the Commando Armored Wheeled Vehicle for submission to ARPA of the Department of Defense. She served as president and vice president of the Government Contracts Association in the Detroit area.

She was president and owner of RBI Industries Ltd., a manufacturing company in Fraser, Mich., until her retirement in the late 1980s. A charter member of Project Hope, she retired to Englewood, Fla., and volunteered at Lemon Bay Conservancy doing Beach Turtle Patrol and water testing. Mrs. McIntosh also served as a volunteer to assist the Sundowner Patrol along the gulf. One of the last volunteer jobs she had to give up was her hospice volunteer work.

She raised two daughters in Detroit, Mich.

Survivors include: two daughters and sons-in-law, Paulette and Rev. David H. Bernthal of Winter Haven and Sherri and Frank R. Gavie of Macomb Township, Mich.; one brother, Samuel Smith of Garden City, Mich.; five grandchildren, Michele LeNoir of Bowling Green, Ky., Michael Bernthal of Macon, Ga., Steven Bernthal of Huntersville, S.C., Minda Crowley of Sterling Heights, Mich., and Sarah Gavie of Macomb Township; two great-grandchildren, Mia LeNoir, 10, of Bowling Green and Ayden Crowley, 5 months, of Sterling Heights; and her former husband of 15 years, William R. "Bill" McIntosh, who resides in Auburndale with his wife, Blanche, and son, Mike.

She was preceded in death by one sister, Idell Fields and one brother, Marion Smith.

A memorial service will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday at Grace Lutheran Church with the Rev. David H. Bernthal officiating.

She leaves behind many beloved family members and friends who will miss her dearly, but who rejoice in the assurance that heaven is now her home.

Steele's Family Funeral Service of Winter Haven is in charge of arrangements.

Memorial contributions may be sent to:

Grace Lutheran Church 327 Ave. C-SE Winter Haven, Fla. 33880

or

Alzheimer's Association Florida Gulf Coast Chapter 1131 First St. South Winter Haven, Fla. 33880

or

Good Shepherd Hospice of Mid-Florida Inc. 105 Arneson Ave. Auburndale, Fla. 33823

Paid obituary