Obituary of Charles E. McKenna

Charles (Ted) McKenna, 85, died peacefully at Good Shepherd Village after a prolonged illness on Monday, September 30, 2024. Ted grew up as one of eight children in Trim, County Meath, Ireland. He often told stories of his time growing up in Ireland, exploring Trim Castle and attending the Christian Brothers School in Trim. In 1958 at the age of 18, he emigrated to the United States, first arriving in New York City before settling in Hudson Falls, New York. There, he met the love of his life, Rose Battiste, who would become his wife of 62 years. Prior to becoming a U.S. citizen, he joined the U.S. Navy in 1959, and served for four years on the USS Mississinewa (AO-144). During that time, he was involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Rose and Ted married in 1962, while he was still in the Navy, and settled in Hudson Falls for 10 years before moving to Binghamton, New York with their three children in 1980. Ted began his 31-year career with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Glens Falls, New York, as an insurance salesman and later moved up to District Manager in Binghamton, Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. After his retirement, Rose and Ted lived in Charleston for 16 years before settling back in Binghamton in 2006, where they lived on the West Side until last year. Ted was a parishioner at Saint Patrick's Church in Binghamton and had a strong Catholic faith. He was very proud of his Irish history and loved to share stories of Ireland. He loved reading books about war and military history, walking around the West Side with Rose, spending time with his Labrador Retriever, Buddy, tending to his vegetable and flower garden, working on home improvement projects, and traveling with Rose. Together, they traveled extensively to many countries, including Ireland, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, Turkey, Italy and Spain. Ted was predeceased by his parents, Molly Gorman McKenna and Theodore McKenna, sister Miriam Stack, and sister and brother-in-law Margaret and Michael Murray. He is survived by his wife, Rose McKenna, children Mary Rose (Matt) Gilroy, John (Jacqueline) McKenna and Christine (Brian) Normile, and grandchildren Maggie (Ian) Haines, Sam Gilroy, Anna Gilroy, Ryan McKenna, and Brendan, Colin and Kate Normile. He is also survived by his siblings Ann Sandford, Theodore, Michael Bueno, Ivan and Laurence McKenna, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews. Rose and family would like to thank the staff and residents of Skilled Nursing at Good Shepherd Village for their loving and compassionate care of Ted. A Funeral Mass will be offered at St. Patrick's Church, corner of Oak and Leroy Streets, Binghamton, Friday at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Johnson City. The family will receive friends at St. Patrick's Church, Friday from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Good Shepherd Communities Foundation, 32 Village Drive, Endwell, NY, or St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 9 Leroy St., Binghamton, NY. The Mass will be livestreamed at www.sta-sp.org