Shrewsbury – Joseph F Kenney, Sr., of Shrewsbury, formerly of Sturbridge, died Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, in Shrewsbury Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. He was 85.
Joe was born April 9, 1927 in Jamaica, Queens, NY, the only child of the late Joseph F and Julia L (Hahner) Kenney. He graduated from Phillipsburg High School and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University, where he was a member of the Theta Xi Fraternity. Joe honorably served our country in the United States Navy during World War II. He married Irene J Ivankevich in the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Phillipsburg, NJ on May 17, 1952.
While his professional career began at Babcock & Wilcox and Washington Engineering, he worked for over 35 years for the Federal & Marine Division of Warren Pumps, Inc., retiring in 1989.
Joe will be remembered as a loving and devoted family man who also cherished the friendships he had developed throughout his life. He enjoyed volunteering his time to help others and meeting new people wherever he went. He and Irene raised their five children on Walker Pond in Sturbridge, where they loved working around their home and watching sunsets over the lake. Irene, his wife of 45 years, and the love of his life, died on March 6, 1999.
For over the past four years, Joe lived at Southgate, a wonderful retirement community, where he made many dear friends and was very happy.
In addition to his wife, Irene, he is predeceased by his daughter-in-law, Janet (Clapp) Kenney.
He leaves his children, Susan K Finan and her husband, Robert, of Marietta, GA, Joseph F Kenney ,Jr., of Winsted, CT, Timothy C Kenney and his wife, Seema-Jayne, of Upton, Robert B Kenney and his wife, Leslie, of Shrewsbury, and John P Kenney, and his wife, Lisa, of Hubbardston; his grandchildren, Peter and Amy Finan, Jonathan, Michael, his wife, Jennifer, and their daughter, Jillian, and Matthew Kenney, Sean, Ryan, and Tyler Kenney, Jacqueline Kenney, Julia and Meghan Kenney; and many nieces and nephews.
Family and friends will honor and remember Joe's life at a memorial Mass at St. Anne's and St. Patrick's Church, 16 Church St., Sturbridge, MA 01518, at a date to be announced. Burial with military honors will be held privately at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, Winchendon.
In lieu of flowers, Joe's memory can be honored through a contribution to the following organizations: Disabled American Veterans at www.dav.org or MDS Foundation (Myelodysplastic Syndromes Foundation) at www.mds-foundation.org.
