Irene L. Frost; tended to troops during WWII

Irene L. (Knight) Frost fought a different kind of war during World War II. Her mission was to make sure that US troops on their way to the front lines or in between assign ments in Europe were well rested, well fed, and emotionally well.

"For the soldiers, she always had some funny comment to make, something to cheer them up," said her son, the Rev. Edward A. Frost of Atlanta. "She was a happy, smiling face for these kids who were on their way to Europe. I think she thought an important part of what she did was to cheer them up and give them a reminder of somebody from home."

Mrs. Frost, a member of the American Red Cross in England, died March 31 in Cape Cod Nursing Center in Bourne. She was 93 and had lived in Wareham for more than 35 years.

She was born in Weymouth to a family that included 14 children. She attended Weymouth schools until she was 13 and started working to help support her large family, her son said.

During her teenage years, Mrs. Frost worked at textile mills and shoe factories on the South Shore. While working at a shoe factory in Brockton, she met her husband, Charles Albert Frost, a native of England. They married in 1936 and moved to her husband's hometown of Leicester after the birth of their son two years later.

When US soldiers began crossing the Atlantic and arriving in England to help fight off the advancing German army during World War II, Mrs. Frost was there to care for them. She joined the American Red Cross in Leicester and served as a supervisor of her unit.

Mrs. Frost always made sure "the boys," as she referred to the troops, had a hot meal, a place to rest, and a dance partner.

"She always said she had her dance card filled," said her granddaughter, Pamela of Allentown, N.J. "She was very proud of herself for the work she was doing."

After the war, Mrs. Frost worked as an elevator operator at a department store in England, but she began missing her home and family back in Massachusetts, So in 1950, her family boarded the original Queen Mary bound for the States, her son said.

The family settled in Sterling, and Mrs. Frost and her husband bought a run-down, Colonial-era home, which they restored. When she wasn't working one of her various jobs or caring for her family, Mrs. Frost could often be found tending the rock gardens she cultivated, her granddaughter said.

After about 10 years in Sterling, they decided they wanted to live near Cape Cod, one of her husband's favorite areas.

They moved to Wareham and bought a mobile home, which they made a welcoming getaway spot for their grandchildren.

"We would visit about every other week," her granddaughter said. "Nana was an old- fashioned English cook. It was always meat and potatoes. It was a full-blown Sunday dinner [every night of the week]."

Mrs. Frost and her husband joined the Gateway Players and performed in the group's bimonthly plays. Mrs. Frost also helped with costumes and set design and construction. She remained an active member of the Gateway Players after her husband died in 1987, but took a more limited role.

Mrs. Frost continued to work until she was in her 70s, according to her son, and did volunteer work at a nearby nursing home.

"They would be short-handed. . . . My 80-something mother would go over and help take care of what she called 'the old people,' " he said.

One of her proudest achievements, said her granddaughter, was helping to put her son through college. He was the first in his family to attend, she said.

"Both of my parents were very proud of themselves that they were able to sort of follow the American dream," Pamela said.

In addition to her son and granddaughter, she leaves two other granddaughters and three great-grandsons.

Services are private.