Mrs. M. Lorraine (Richards) Kenney, long-time resident of Lawrence, MA, passed away on Saturday evening, September 14, 2024, at the age of 97. Lorraine was born on August 26, 1927, and raised in Andover during the depression years in what was affectionately known as 'tar-paper village'. She was the eighth of ten children, the daughter of Joseph A. and Angeline (Bernard) Richard, both of whom were immigrants of Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Lorraine graduated from Plympton High School in 1945 while living with her sister Anne. She returned to Andover to help manage the household with her younger sisters while nursing her mother through her battle with cancer. When her mother passed, Lorraine traveled to New York to help her sister Marguerite "Peggy" care for her newborn twins. She subsequently lived with various siblings while working as a telephone operator at the Bell Telephone Company and at Andover Companies with her youngest sister Ella.
In the early fifties, Lorraine met the love of her life, Frank T. Kenney. She was married on April 24, 1954, and raised five children with him in a home that she loved on Ames Street in Lawrence. She and Frank were active members of St. Augustine's parish. Lorraine was a devoted wife to Frank for 51 years, and a loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother for many more. Her greatest joy was spending time with and caring for her immediate and extended family. Lorraine's quiet and compassionate nature made her the natural confidant of family and friends; she was often the first person they turned to in times of need, sorrow, or happiness. Her strength and devotion to family were deeply ingrained values based on the Catholic faith instilled by her mother.
Lorraine's own needs and pleasures were simple - she loved reading, gardening, hosting and attending holiday and other family events, traveling with her husband and siblings, baking cookies and berry and apple picking with her grandsons, and playing with her great-granddaughters. She especially loved playing card games with family members - monthly poker games with her siblings and endless games of forty-fives with her children and grandsons (she was wickedly competitive!). Lorraine was truly beloved by all who knew her and will be deeply missed.
Lorraine is survived by her loving children; Susan and her husband Wayne Etter of Cornelius, North Carolina, Paul Kenney, Ann Kenney and Frank and his wife Judi Kenney, all of Seabrook, New Hampshire, sister; Ella Riley of North Andover, grandsons; Brian, Stephen, David, Shawn, Eric, Aaron, Joseph and Daniel, great-granddaughters; Violet, Isla, Chloe, Leslie, Keira and Lauren and many nieces and nephews. She was also the loving mother of the late John Patrick Kenney. with whom she spent many happy winters visiting in his Arizona home.
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated in St. Augustine Church, 43 Essex Street, Andover on Saturday, September 21, 2024, at 10:00 AM. Relatives and friends are most welcome to attend. Calling hours will be held in the Burke-Magliozzi Funeral Home, 390 North Main Street, Andover on Friday, September 20, 2024, from 4 to 8 PM. Interment will be held in the St. Mary Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Lawrence. Donations in Lorraine's memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://act.alz.orf) and in memory of her son John, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (site.sitcander.org/support/forwardfund). For additional information, please visit, www.burkemagliozzi.com.