IN MEMORIAM: ‘Lennie’ Macarthur, 79;
Retired To Cooperstown Area In 1992
COOPERSTOWN – Warrene S. “Lennie” Macarthur, 79, of Venice, Fla., and the Cooperstown area, died following a valiant year-long battle with cancer on Tuesday morning, Sept. 22, 2020, at her home on Stocking Brook Road, Town of Otsego, with family by her side.
She was born Nov. 21, 1940, in Amarillo, Texas, the eldest child and only daughter of Warren Perry and Vera Pearl née Gutshall Shreve.
Lennie graduated from high school in Pittsburgh, and then matriculated at Penn State.
On Dec. 24, 1959, she married William Ward Nichols, Jr. in Pittsburgh. Am Army captain, her husband was deployed to Vietnam in 1965, where he was killed in action on Oct. 4, 1965.
A few years later, while playing bridge, Lennie met Lindsay Macarthur, Jr., and on Feb. 22, 1969, they were united in marriage in the Chapel at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Ridgewood, N.J., where Lennie had been a deaconess.
They settled in Ho-Ho-Kus, where Lennie was a devoted homemaker and dedicated volunteer. Lennie served the community as president of the Junior Women’s Club of Ridgewood, president of the Family Counseling Service Auxiliary of Ridgewood & Vicinity, and president of the Social Service Association of Ridgewood & Vicinity.
Perhaps her most fulfilling accomplishment was serving as co-director of The Depot, a women’s exchange and consignment shop whose profits support Family Counseling Service. Through the leadership and hard work of Lennie, and so many other volunteers, The Depot grew to become, and remains, the largest such organization in the country. Following Lindsay’s and Lennie’s retirement in 1992, they divided their time between homes in Florida and the Cooperstown area.
In addition to bridge, embroidery and gardening, Lennie was an avid tennis player and golfer. She was a member of the Cooperstown Country Club and the Mission Valley Golf and Country Club in Nokomis, Fla. She was also a faithful member of the Venice Presbyterian Church. Later in life Lennie resumed playing the cello, which gave her great joy.
Lennie is survived by her four children, Anne M. Booth and husband, Thomas of Winston-Salem, N.C., Jennifer M. Davis and husband, Louis D. “Tripp” Davis III of Abington, Pa., David P. Nichols and wife, Louise Reid Boyce Nichols, of Wilmington, Del, and Peter L. Macarthur of Dobbs Ferry and Cooperstown; four grandchildren, Ensign Owen P. Davis, USN, Gwenyth A. Davis, Eliza Campbell Nichols and William Hewitt Ward Nichols; a brother, Warren Perry Shreve and wife, Diane, of Blue Springs, Mo.; and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to her parents, who died when she was in her 20s, and her first husband, Lennie was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Lindsay Macarthur, Jr., a retired executive vice president of Manufacturers Hanover, who died July 6, 2017.
In consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, a gathering in memory of Lennie will be held in Cooperstown next summer. For now, please remember the times you spent with Lennie and know that she is at peace.
One way to remember and honor her life would be to make a memorial donation to The Venice Symphony (www.thevenicesymphony.org) or The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival (www.cooperstownmusicfest.org).
Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.