Lorena Mcnamara

Madison - Lorena May "Rena" McNamara -age 90, passed from this life on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 surrounded by her loving family. Rena was born on May 5, 1922 in Harvard, Illinois, the daughter of Richard and Olive (Tapp) Woods. She moved to the Janesville area as a child. She graduated from Janesville High School in 1940. She attended one year of Technical College and then began working for Parker Pen during the war. She married John Paul McNamara and together they had seven children. After moving to Madison, Rena worked for Mendota Hospital and Ray-O-Vac. She enjoyed sitting around the kitchen table drinking coffee and chatting with friends and family. Her door was always open and the coffee pot full. She enjoyed playing cards with her card club for many years. She loved watching football and was an avid Green Bay Packer fan all of her life. She also loved her Braves, even after they left Milwaukee. She will be deeply missed by those who loved her. Rena is survived by her seven children; Jerry (Carol) McNamara of Sutton, Alaska, Pam (Mike) Farrell of Madison, Terri McNamara of Monona, Gail (Russ) Wight of Madison, Sherri (Guy) Hatleberg of Madison, Dan McNamara of Madison and Colleen (Tom) McKendry of Cottage Grove, her ten grandchildren; Shannon McNamara, Jason McNamara, Melissa Farrell, Erin Grosskopf, Shane McNamara, Max McKendry, Ross McKendry, Patrick Hatleberg, Keith Hatleberg, and Mariah McNamara. She is further survived by a sister-in-law Therese Woods and many nieces and nephews. She enjoyed her visits from her nephew Carey Burkhard, and her nieces Betsy Floski and Becky Riese. She was preceded in death by her parents, her great-grandson Tyler Scott McNamara, her brother Donald Woods, her sister-in-law and best friend Patricia Burkhard, and her ex-husband Paul McNamara.
A celebration of her life gathering will be held on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 at CRESS FUNERAL HOME, 3325 E. Washington Ave., Madison from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made in memory of Rena to the Dane County Humane Society because of her love for animals.

The family wishes to thank Jeff and the staff at Chamomile for providing Rena with a loving home, Care Wisconsin for their many years of care, The Willows in Sun Prairie for the excellent care in her final days and Agrace HospiceCare.
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Cress Funeral Home
3325 E. Washington Ave., Madison
608-249-6666
www.cressfuneralservice.com