Donna Louise (Reed) McIntyre

Donna Louise (Reed) McIntyre, 67, passed away of natural causes Thursday morning, October 6, 2022, at her home in Paw Paw Michigan where she lived with her daughter and grandson.

Cookie, as called by most, was born November 18, 1954, in Orleans, France, the daughter of the late James and Irmgard (Ubel) Reed of Lawrence, Michigan. She was their first daughter, with two older brothers and two younger sisters. They relocated a lot growing up in the Army, but settled finally for a bit in Alexandria Virginia, where she attended both Hayfield Secondary School and Thomas Edison High School, where she graduated in 1973.

As a young adult, she had aspirations of becoming a model while working as a secretary for the U.S.Navy. Her mental health would soon hinder such, but she never lost the clerical skills, keeping records of everything from books read to alphabetized letters she’d saved. Most of her career though consisted of caring for children, including her own and eventual grandchildren.

In 1978 she married the boy next door, Gordon (Carol) McIntyre of Conway SC, and gave birth to their daughter, Veronica. Though divorced in 1984, they remain friends. The “love of her life” however, was William Sirrine of Paw Paw, MI. Billy was her rock who became family instantly. They spent many happy years together before deciding to be friends instead, but forever family. Cookie loved animals and was typically surrounded by pets. Be they cats, dogs, bunnies, hamsters, a raccoon, or Sixer the snake she called “roommate”, she loved and was loved by them all. Perhaps none as much though as Chloe, her grandson's dog, who quickly became her sidekick.

She lived life to a soundtrack and enjoyed singing along with her daughter and eventually granddaughter at every opportunity. She’d play music while she’d crochet, do a puzzle, or read a Danielle Steele novel, boasting having read them all, as well as over 400 books by others.

Donna was preceded in death by her father in 1992, both her mother and younger sister Sandra (Reed) (David) Dimas of Hartford, MI in 2014, and her aunt Josephine (Reed) Stone in 2020.

She is survived by her daughter, Veronica (McIntyre) (Craig) Olsen, brothers Wallace (Luisa) Reed of Nuremberg, Germany, and James (Joan) Reed of Lake Mary, FL, her sister Betty Reed of Lawrence, MI, and grandchildren Derek and Aleesya McIntyre, Sean and Zackary Moon, and Collin and Skye Olsen.

Donna didn’t want a burial, nor a funeral. Following cremation, to celebrate her love of ice cream instead, a private ice cream social style memorial will take place at her home on her birthday Friday November 18th, 2022. A trip to New York is being planned for the coming spring to spread her ashes into the Atlantic Ocean to ride the current back to France. Contact Veronica for details.