Former English teacher Winifred McDonald served as Connecticut’s Sec of State

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Former Connecticut English teacher Winifred McDonald also served as Connecticut Secretary of State. Photo credit: Public Domain

Many excellent educators have also served as able politicians. One of these was Winifred McDonald, a former school teacher who also served as Connecticut’s Secretary of State.

Winifred was born on June 8, 1888, in Waterbury Connecticut. Sadly, Winifred was orphaned when she was a child. Nevertheless, as a young girl, she attended parochial schools.

Once she earned her high school diploma, Winifred enrolled at Saint Elizabeth University, a private, Catholic liberal arts university located in Convent Station, Morris Township, New Jersey. There she earned her Bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in 1910. During her college years, Winifred completed an extensive study of social conditions in New York City, particularly those related to child welfare.

After completed her college degree, Winifred returned to Connecticut where she accepted a position as an English teacher at Ansonia High School, a public four-year high school located in Ansonia. She also taught at Crosby High School, a public high school in the East End section of Waterbury.

The exemplary teacher became involved in politics when she was selected to be a member of the Democratic State Central Committee representing the 15th Senate District. She was also a member of the Waterbury Democratic Town Committee. In 1947 she served as the Vice Chair of the Town Committee, and in 1954 she was named the Chair of the organization. In addition to her work on the Democratic State Central Committee, Winifred served as President of the New Haven County Democratic Federated Women’s Club, and she was named the President of the Saint Elizabeth College Alumna Association.

In 1948, Winifred, described as a “pert, smallish woman with flashing eyes and an iron-grey bob,” decided to run for the elected position of Connecticut Secretary of State. She won the campaign by a narrow margin, and held the post from 1949 to 1951. While serving, she was particularly interested in child welfare and housing. In addition, she urged local officials to extend voting hours to allow Jewish voters to get to the polls after sunset, when the annual observance of Yom Kippur had concluded.

Winifred passed away on Feb. 23, 1976, at Waterbury Hospital. She was 87 years old. She is interred at the new Saint Joseph’s Cemetery in Waterbury.