June 14, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Obituaries

Allan MacKinlay

Allan (Mac) MacKinlay, 81, of Maple Glen, the former owner of a Chestnut Hill auto repair shop, died June 9 of complications from Parkinson’s disease at Brighton at Ambler Nursing Home.

Until his retirement in 1993, Mr. MacKinlay was widely known throughout Chestnut Hill for more than 40 years as the owner of Otto Lehmann’s Garage on Winston Road.

A native of Mahanoy City, Pa., he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard a troop transport in the Pacific and Atlantic theaters, and in the liberation of the Philippines, earning him the Victory Medal.

Mr. MacKinlay enjoyed hunting and fishing, photography and traveling in the United States and Europe. He was a member of the Fort Washington Historical Society.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Betty Ryan MacKinlay; two daughters, Ann Valentine (Mark) of Michigan, and Claire Blustein (Josh) of Maple Glen; a son, Allan John MacKinlay (Jean) also of Maple Glen; a brother, William MacKinlay of Rehoboth, Mass.; and six grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was celebrated June 12 at St. Alphonsus Church, Maple Glen. Interment was at St. John Neumann Cemetery, Chalfont.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163.

Anthony C. Chicone

Anthony C. Chicone, 102, formerly of Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill, a retired bank officer, died May 15 at Stapeley in Germantown.

At the time of his retirement in 1969, Mr. Chicone was an assistant vice president at the former Western Savings Bank.

He began his banking career in 1920 at Starr Savings Bank, a small community institution in South Philadelphia. The bank became Independence Savings Bank and later merged with First Penny Savings Bank founded by John Wanamaker. In 1931 First Penny Savings was taken over by what was then the Western Saving Fund Society.

During his 50 years in banking, Mr. Chicone rose from teller to manager of school savings, advertising manager, assistant secretary, assistant treasurer and ultimately assistant vice president for advertising and public relations.

Mr. Chicone was widely known in the city for displays he created in Western Savings Bank’s windows at Broad and Chestnut Streets. For the bank’s 100th anniversary in 1947, he wrote and produced a musical pageant — with a cast of bank employees — and was the show’s narrator and impresario.

Mr. Chicone was born in 1904 to Italian immigrants in South Philadelphia. He attended Philadelphia public schools and took evening classes at Temple University.

He was a member of the Financial Public Relations Association of America, the Poor Richard Club, the Italian-American Society, the Art Alliance and the Masons.

He was also a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Chestnut Hill and was active in both parish and diocesan affairs.

Mr. Chicone’s wife, the former Eleanor White, died in 2005 at the age of 100. He is survived by a daughter, Pamela Klinger (Jaime), and a granddaughter. Interment was in the churchyard at St. Thomas’ Church Whitemarsh, Fort Washington.

Joan S. Smith

Joan Strittmatter Smith, 83, formerly of Chestnut Hill, died June 5, at the Meadowood at Worcester Retirement Community where she had resided since 2003.

Mrs. Smith had been for several years an employee of the former Sylvia Shop, a women’s clothing store in Chestnut Hill.

Although she had spent most of her life in the Philadelphia area, Mrs. Smith also had resided for a time in Sea Isle City, N.J., and Vero Beach, Fla. She was the wife of the late Anthony J. Smith, a widely known Philadelphia attorney.

A daughter of the late Dr. Isidore T. Strittmatter Jr. and Emma Mayer Strittmatter, Mrs. Smith was a graduate of Rosemont College, where she majored in history.

She is survived by a son, Anthony Smith Jr. (Christine) of Egg Harbor Township, N.J.; four daughters, Joan Pilallis (George) of Malvern, Susan Fagnani (James) of Doylestown, Ann Powers (Mark) of San Carlos, Calif., and Patricia Fiorella (John) of Philadelphia; and seven grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was celebrated June 11 at Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lansdale Interment was at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the Meadowood at Worcester Benevolence Fund, P. O. Box 670, Worcester, PA 19490.