Madeline Schwinge McClure

McClure—Madeline Schwinge McClure, 91, on May 22, 2018, in Bridgewater, N.J. Madeline was born on April 4, 1927, in Yorktown, N.Y., to Myrtle and Henry Schwinge, and she grew up in Secaucus, N.J. Her interest in interracial activities began during her attendance at Antioch College, where she first experienced a Quaker meeting for worship. She married George McClure in 1948, and they settled in Little Falls, N.J. She joined Montclair (N.J.) Meeting in 1958 and served on the Religious Education Committee. She also clerked New York Yearly Meeting’s Junior Yearly Meeting, Race Relations, Sharing Fund, Black Development, Black Concerns, and Witness Coordinating Committees. With George and her daughter, she took part in the historic 1963 civil rights March on Washington. She served as president of Verona League of Women Voters (LWV) and member of the New Jersey State Board of the LWV during her years as a homemaker.

In 1965 and again in 1967, the McClures welcomed into the family two 16-year-old African American daughters: Emily (from Mississippi) and Mary Jane (from Tennessee), both of whom have loving extended families of their own with lifelong connections to the McClures. When Emily faced open racial discrimination at the local high school, Madeline’s election to the regional high school board of education enabled her to deal effectively with the situation.

She went back to school when she was 51 years old, receiving a bachelor’s in computer science from Montclair State College in 1984. She then worked for AT&T. She and George retired in 1994, and in 1997 moved to Arbor Glen in Bridgewater, N.J., where they remained active in their community and attended Rahway and Plainfield (N.J.) Meeting.

Madeline was predeceased by her husband, George McClure; a daughter, Emily Smoot Borom; and a brother, Henry Schwinge (known as Buddy). She is survived by two daughters, Mary Jane Johnson (John) and Kathleen McClure (Peter Matsoukas); two beloved grandchildren; a sister, Virginia Schwinge Degraw; and a large extended family.