Leal M. Brinegar, 84, passed away on Nov. 27, 2024, at HillHouse Assisted Living in Bath.

Leal was born in New York City on Feb. 26, 1940, to Col. Hugh W MacDonald and Barbara Hadden MacDonald. They moved to Green Brook, New Jersey when she was a child and took up residence in The Steading, a renovated Revolutionary War-era barn. Before she could walk, her parents started taking her to Maine to spend the summers in the Boothbay region and her beloved Southport Island. She attended Hartridge School in Plainfield, New Jersey where she made wonderful, lifelong friendships.  After graduation, she spent a year in France as an au pair.  

In 1960, at a neighborhood cocktail party held by the bachelors renting the house next door, she met the love of her life, Willard Brinegar. They were engaged in 1961 while she attended Georgetown University School of Foreign Service receiving a bachelor of science in international studies and while Will attended the University of Iowa.  She lived on P Street in Georgetown, during which time she worked for National Geographic, and apparently threw some legendary parties.  Leal and Will were married on Sept. 19, 1964, at Grace Episcopal Church in Plainfield.  They lived in Gilette, New Jersey, Charlotte, North Carolina, Morristown, New Jersey, Worthington, Ohio and finally retired to Maine in 1998. They raised three children and provided a respite for many other young people in the neighborhood.  In Morristown, Leal worked for Glendale Florist and for the Morris County School System.  She was an active member of St Peter’s Church, volunteering on many committees and for countless projects.  

After moving full time to Southport, Leal enjoyed being a member of the Boothbay Region Garden Club which was shown in her beautiful home gardens and poured her creativity into the Garden Club’s annual Festival of Trees event making boxwood trees. She was quite devoted to the Southport Yacht Club, serving as secretary and chairing the Arts & Crafts Show fundraiser for numerous years. She organized summer wedding ceremonies at All Saints by-the-Sea Episcopal Church and served on the altar guild at All Saints and St. Columba’s.  

She was an excellent hostess and loved to cook and entertain.  She always remembered the small things that people liked and made sure to have them on hand when they came to visit. She adored animals and always had a few cats and a Corgi or two around. After Will retired, they traveled the world visiting Scotland, China, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Italy, Greece, several US National Parks and Alaska. She was fascinated by family genealogy and was able to visit some of the heritage sites in Scotland tracing her lineage across the ocean to Nova Scotia and New England. 

She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Willard Brinegar; son Willard Chace Brinegar and his wife, Cushman, their children Hadden and Chapman; daughter Elizabeth (EB) Abaldo and her husband Christopher, their children Isabelle and Logan; son Stewart and his wife Kathleen, their children Cameron and Hadley; her closest relative (more of a brother than a cousin), Peter French and his wife Grace. She has numerous lifelong friends that enriched her life in so many ways.  She loved living in Maine, surrounded by friends, family, birds, boats, and flowers. 

A private burial is planned with a celebration of life in the summer of 2025. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the Southport Junior Yacht Club Sailing Foundation (SJYCSF, P.O. Box 68, Southport, ME 04576) or the Boothbay Region Garden Club (P.O. Box 113, Boothbay, ME 04537).    

The family would like to express their thanks and appreciation to the loving caregivers at HillHouse in Bath, Lincoln County District Nursing and others who cared for Leal during her battle with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Hall Funeral Home and Cremation Services. To share a condolence or memory with the Brinegar family, visit Leal’s Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.