Kathleen A. McKenna

Kathleen Anne McKenna, nee Birmingham, passed away on October 9, 2025, after a valiant fight with Alzheimer's.

Born in New York City on July 17, 1936, Kathleen was the third child, of four, born to John and Helen Birmingham. As teenagers, the four siblings, John, Helen, Kathleen (who was called Chickie) and Alice moved with their parents to the Highbridge section of the Bronx. Blocks from Yankee Stadium, she would often go to games with her mother, a devoted fan, and the love for her beloved team grew. She even appeared on the cover of a newspaper attending a game when she was supposed to be in school!

Kathleen married at 19 and went on to have three children, Anne Marie, Suzanne and Paul. By the mid-60s, she was courageously raising her young children alone, making ends meet by working as a business representative for the New York Telephone Company in Mount Vernon. She met the love of her life, William "Bill" McKenna in October, 1968, and they married on June 8, 1969. They welcomed three more boys to the fold, William, John and Daniel, and were thrilled to become first-time homeowners on Bronx Boulevard for the growing brood.

At 53 years old, Kathleen decided to fulfill her lifelong wish of becoming a nurse. "I raised all six of you and now it is my turn to follow my dream," she told us. So she attended Bronx Community College where she became an LPN. She followed that up by attending Westchester Community College to get her nursing degree to become a registered nurse.

Kathleen was employed at Metropolitan Hospital on First Avenue in East Harlem as a nurse in the postpartum unit that included the nursery. She also rotated on the labor and delivery floor. Her co-worker recalls, "Kathy brought her care and exuberance with her wherever she worked." Many of the babies were born with drug-related difficulties. Kathleen loved each and every one of those babies as if they were her own. For each holiday she would dress each newborn in adorable outfits to the delight of the staff and mothers. Her efforts didn't go unnoticed and the Mayor of New York City even stopped by for a visit to see the precious babies.

After more than ten years of driving back and forth to Manhattan from Valhalla, where she resided with her husband, she retired. For a few more years, she became a substitute school nurse for the Bedford and Valhalla school districts.

Kathleen loved to travel. There are albums of photos documenting the many trips across the United States including North and South Dakota, California, Florida, Nevada and New England. When Paul was in high school she took him to Ireland to meet her Aunt Kitty and met some of her first cousins for the first time. Years later, in October, 2003, Kathleen and Bill organized a trip for the children and grandchildren to go to Ireland to meet her nine first cousins so they could know their relatives. That bond has been kept alive to this day with the families visiting from across the pond as often as possible.

Kathleen is survived by the love of her life, husband William, their six children and their spouses, Anne Marie (James), Suzanne (Sal), Paul (Debbie), William (Tina), John (Maureen) and Daniel (Allison). Their eleven grandchildren are Louise, Michael, Caitlin, Jacqueline (Joey), D.J., Max, Mason, Devin, Emily and Thomas. She has one surviving sibling, Alice, living on Long Island, along with many nieces and nephews.

The family requests in lieu of flowers to please make a donation to the Alzheimer's Association in her memory. http://act.alz.org/donate