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John J. McKenna, Jr. Veteran
November 10, 2019

Obituary

John J. "Mac" McKenna, Jr., 84 of New Bedford passed away on Sunday November 10, 2019 at home surrounded by his family.
He was the husband of Ann E. (Dalzell) McKenna.
Born in New Bedford, son of the late John J. and Veronica (Lyons) McKenna, he lived in New Bedford all of his life.
He attended Holy Family High School and graduated from New Bedford High School , class of 1954.
He joined the U.S. Army and was stationed in Korea. Upon returning home, he worked for the City of New Bedford working in the DPW before retiring as traffic commissioner after 37 years of service. In retirement he worked at Donaghy-Hathaway Funeral Home.
During his earlier years, John enjoyed many sports, baseball, football, basketball and golf. He tried out for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was an avid fan of the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox. He also loved gardening. John also had a love for the circus. He spent many hours and years building his own circus in his home.
He was a member of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Andrews-Dahill Post 1531 Veterans of Foreign Wars, James P. Murphy Memorial Club and was a corporator of Compass Bank.
John was known for officiating baseball, football and basketball for over 44 years.
John enjoyed a good cigar, a Manhattan and the company of his friends at The Dipper. He was always the life of the party and was known by his quote "I'll have just one more."
He is survived by his wife Ann; his 5 sons, Timothy McKenna of New Bedford, Thomas McKenna and his wife Lori of Cumberland, RI, Kevin McKenna and his wife Donna of Fairhaven, John "J.D." McKenna of Dartmouth and Chris McKenna and his wife Michele of Newport, RI; a brother, Charles McKenna and his wife Kathy of New Bedford; a sister, Elizabeth Lajoie of New Bedford; his sister-in-law, Norma Dyer; 7 grandchildren, Jessica McKenna, Ryan McKenna, Madison McKenna, Shawn and Kendra Poirier, Kacey McKenna and Meghan McKenna; and several nieces and nephews.
He was the brother of the late Ann Golen.
His Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, November 14th at 10 AM at the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford. Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery. Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday, November 13th from 4-7 PM. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Boys and Girls Club of New Bedford, 166 Jenney St., New Bedford, MA 02740 or Community Nurse Home Care, 62 Center St. Fairhaven, MA 02719.

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Saunders-Dwyer Funeral Homes
495 Park Street
New Bedford, MA 02740
508-994-0100