Jane Frances (Ferren) McLaughlin (1917 - 2000)

Born 13 Aug 1917 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

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Died 14 Mar 2000 at age 82 in Fletcher Hills, Modoc, California, United States

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Biography

Jane McLaughlin; escrow officer, ex-Imperial Beach mayor While raising nine children, Jane Frances McLauglin found the energy to pursue two careers: one as an Imperial Beach city councilwoman and mayor, and the other as a fulltime escrow officer. "I don't think we ever figured out how she did it all," said Jerry McLaughlin of Chula Vista, one of her sons. Mrs. McLaughlin, who served two one-year terms as mayor in the 1960s, died Tuesday at her home in Fletcher Hills. She was 82. The cause of death was cancer, which was diagnosed three years ago, and complications from osteoporosis, family members said. Shortly after settling in Imperial Beach in 1948, Mrs. McLaughlin began a legacy of civic service in the South Bay community that ranged from upgrading sewer and trash-collection services to reconstructing the fishing pier and paving streets. With a background in law, including a degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Mrs. McLaughlin helped draft the city charter and local zoning ordinances. Imperial Beach was incorporated in 1956 and Mrs. McLaughlin became an original member of the city's Planning Commission. In 1962, she was appointed to a vacant post on the City Council, where she served for the next eight years. In 1965 and 1967 her council colleagues elected her mayor. "Jane was an ideal public servant," recalled Bill Blank, a former City Council colleague who was mayor in 1969 and 1970. "She wanted nothing for herself and worked only for the community. She viewed everybody as an equal." Mrs. McLaughlin, a native of Dorchester, Mass., earned a law degree in 1944. She was admitted to the bar in Massachusetts and practiced in Boston before moving to San Diego in 1946 with her husband, Navy man John McLaughlin. Two years later, the McLaughlins bought a home in Imperial Beach. Mrs. McLaughlin began a career as an escrow officer for various financial institutions in the South Bay. "She got her broker's license but decided not to take the (state) test ... because she would have to go to Los Angeles to do it," Jerry McLaughlin said. As their family grew, the McLaughlins expanded their home on Elm Street to six bedrooms from three. "People called it the mayor's mansion," recalled her son Stephen of Raleigh, N.C. "She raised her children to be independent, but she was always there and available to us," he said. "It was kind of amazing how she could fit 10 pounds into a five-pound bag all the time." The first of many civic issues that caught Mrs. McLaughlin's attention concerned the sewer service in Imperial Beach. As secretary of a residents committee, she played a key role in a successful move to transfer service from private business to the San Diego Metropolitan Sanitary District. Mrs. McLaughlin also championed a plan under which the city would provide trash collection, creating a tax base for civic inprovements such as building projects. Nearly 100 blocks of streets were paved using the new city revenues, mostly on the city's north side. Curbs and sidewalks also were installed, Blank recalled. "Jane was largely responsible for the building of Marina Vista Park in the center of the city, across from City Hall," he said. "We all believed Imperial Beach was a city with phenomenal potential, and we hoped at the time to develop the Tijuana Slough into a fine residential area." Today, that area is occupied by the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Reserve. As a public official, Mrs. McLaughlin's legacy to Imperial Beach included a municipal swimming pool, a civic center and a library. She retired from city government in 1971 to concentrate on escrow work. She also became involved in a paralegal program at the University of San Diego and in continuing education at Southwestern College. She was a director of the San Diego division of the League of California Cities and was active in Soroptimist International and the Family Services Association, which provides counseling to low-income families. In 1077, Mrs. McLaughlin left Home Federal Savings in Imperial Beach to work part time as an escrow officer and real estate agent for Leadingham Realty. She retired in 1982. "She loved to vacation in Hawaii and spent much of her spare time with needlepoint and crochet work," Stephen McLaughlin said. Mrs. McLaughlin moved from Imperial Beach to Chula Vista in 1975 and, after becoming ill, relocated closer to family members in El Cajon. Besides her sons Jerry and Stephen, survivors include daughters Christine Fortin and Jane McLaughlin, both of San Diego, and Patricia Cobbs and Barbara Ord, both of El Cajon; sons John of Osaka, Japan, Paul of Rocklin, and David of Kona, Hawaii; sisters Patricia Ferren of Milton, Mass., and Marie DeLourdes of Ipswich, Mass.; 18 grandchildren; and a great-grandson. A rosary will be recited at 7 tonight at Humphrey Mortuary, Chula Vista. Services are scheduled for 1 p.m. tomorrow at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, El Cajon. Donations are suggested to Grossmont Hospice. San Diego Union Tribune; Friday, 17 March 2000; B-5

Sources

• Year: 1940; Census Place: Milton, Norfolk, Massachusetts; Roll: T627_1628; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 11-133