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Obituary

Volunteer filled life with giving until end

Irene Daimwood got her GED late in life and was sewing and serving until weeks before her death from osteoporosis complications. She was 76.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published January 27, 2006

IRENE M. DAIMWOOD, 1929-2006

SUN BAY SOUTH - When Irene Daimwood was in her early 70s and her health started slipping, it became obvious she couldn't keep up her grueling schedule of volunteer work.

For decades, she had volunteered for eight hours a day, every day, for schools, churches, hospitals and children's homes. When she wasn't giving her time to an organization, she would find a needy elderly person and offer to run errands. Even in her free time, she'd spend evenings at home, crocheting baby sweaters that she donated to maternity wards.

But when the time came for her to slow down, she couldn't bring herself to relax. Instead, she fulfilled a longtime dream to graduate from high school. She got her GED when she was 74 years old.

Two years later, on Jan. 18, she died from complications of osteoporosis. She was 76.

"She wasn't the kind of person who ever wanted to be in the spotlight," said her daughter-in-law, Tammy Daimwood. "But she was so proud of that. She bought her high school ring, and she got her cap and gown. It was like she finally got the graduation she never had."

She continued doing charitable work, even after her health began to fail. She sewed costumes for Christmas plays at Hope Children's Home just weeks before her death. In her home, family members found baby sweaters that she crocheted but never had a chance to take to a hospital. They also found letters from charitable organizations that Mrs. Daimwood had supported financially.

Mrs. Daimwood was born in Indiana but moved with her family to Tampa when she was 16. The move interrupted her schooling, and she didn't return to it for nearly 60 years.

She split with her first husband and was left on her own to raise two young sons, Donnie and Allan. She took in washing to make ends meet.

Not long after that, she met her second husband, David Daimwood, who adopted her sons. The family lived in North Tampa, but after her husband's death, Mrs. Daimwood moved to Sun Bay South to be closer to her son Allan and his wife, Tammy.

Even when she was better off financially, she never pampered herself. She bought her clothes at thrift stores and wore old sneakers. But she gave incessantly to charities, friends and family.

"She would buy a $1 hamburger at Wendy's for herself when she was hungry," her daughter-in-law said. "But then she would take us all out for a steak dinner."

Though she was an incredibly energetic woman, she was essentially shy. She never wanted to be singled out for her contributions and preferred to help behind the scenes.

For more than 30 years, she volunteered in the laundry room of the James A. Haley VA Medical Center, sewing torn gowns and uniforms and mending clothes for patients. Over the years, hundreds, even thousands, of patients and staff members reaped the benefits of her work.

Just weeks before her death, Mrs. Daimwood started to complain about pain. She entered the hospital and before long was paralyzed because osteoporosis had caused bone chips to get into her spinal column. She died a few days later.

"She just couldn't stand to be inactive," Tammy Daimwood said. "We really think that's why she died. She couldn't stand to just lie there and didn't have the will to live."

In addition to her sons, Mrs. Daimwood is survived by six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 09:13:57]