Joan McNaught, one of MITRE Corporation's earliest employees who rose to become the national defense think-tank's first woman department manager; a devoted champion of all things canine; and a resident of Bedford for more than 80 years, died October 24, 2020, in her Bedford home. She was 92.

Joan McNaught was born to Waldo Francis McNaught and Edith Emilene Boyer McNaught on December 15, 1927 in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She was the youngest of seven children.

Her father's career in the Veterans Administration led to the family being relocated several times throughout the country until 1937 when the McNaught family moved to their home on Hillside Avenue in Bedford, Massachusetts where Joan resided until her death.

She graduated from Lexington High School in 1945 and attended Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, New York before finishing her undergraduate degree at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

She went on to work at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Defense Research and Development Center located in Lexington, Massachusetts.

In 1958, MITRE was formed to provide overall direction to the companies and workers involved in the U.S. Air Force SAGE project, a continental air-defense network commissioned by the U.S. military designed to intercept incoming planes during the height of the Cold War. Most of the early employees, including McNaught, were transferred to MITRE from the Lincoln Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where SAGE was being developed.

McNaught worked at MITRE Corporation until her retirement in 1991 having risen to the position of Manager of Information Services Department, the first woman to have been promoted to such a senior leadership position.

Since before she could walk, Joan McNaught had an ongoing love affair with the canine species. She always had at least one dog and as many as 12, and would intentionally aggravate her two brothers and four sisters by throwing her arms around her four-legged sibling, saying, "I love you more than anyone in the whole wide world."

She established a registered kennel and bred several champion English Cocker Spaniels, and in later years embraced Standard Poodles and Border Collies -- all that went on to become Champions.

She was a member of the prestigious Ladies' Dog Club, founded in 1914, and was well known and loved by the top breeders and handlers throughout New England.

She loved the race track and was a regular at Rockingham Park in Salem, NH; Saratoga in Saratoga Springs in New York; Suffolk Downs in East Boston; and Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. She also enjoyed an occasional day trip to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun where she could easily blow $100 on the slots.

She drove a Chevy Suburban, outfitted with three large dog crates, and would draw stares and then wide smiles and thumbs up from drivers pulling up alongside astonished to see a 90+-year old lady with her canine passengers handling the big vehicle.

Retirement afforded her even more time to devote to her avocation and she took up every sporting event involving her dogs including Obedience Trials, Agility, Show, Sheep Herding, Scent and Flyball. She even installed a pool with a raised-deck in her back yard to train her dogs for Dock Diving.

Part of a Flyball Team, Joan submitted this all too fitting bio of herself:

"Joan McNaught - World's worst procrastinator...retired into a world of canine cacophony...lives to respond to the idiosyncrasies of 2 Border Collies, a big Brown Standard Poodle named Solomon, and an evil little white menacing kitty called Sprout. Reads, writes, pays taxes, and thinks real fun is watching the dog go down the lane, eyes bright, tail wagging, tongue out and hell bent to get that ball. "

She was engaged to be married twice but remained single, much to the pleasure of her nieces and nephews who treasured having an Aunt Joan who was a confidant, counselor, advisor, mentor and especially a good friend.

No matter what her age, she was always up for a new adventure and experience and gave meaning to Bob Dylan's lyric, "He not busy being born is busy dying."

She is survived by Somedog, Shambles, Steiner and the cat Scandal. She is also survived by 16 nieces and nephews and a corps of devoted friends and neighbors.

Visitation at the Bedford Funeral Home on Tuesday, Oct. 27,  from 4:00 pm – 8:00 pm. A private funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Michael's Catholic Church followed by interment at Shawsheen Cemetery.