Rose C. McKenna passed away on Saturday, June 25, surrounded by loved ones. She was predeceased by her husband Thomas and her sister Anna. She is survived by her sister, Eileen Clancy, her son, TJ, as well as her daughter-in-law, Karen, her nephew Robbie and his daughter Nicole, her three grandchildren, Thomas, Danny, & Billy, and their significant others, Kelly, Shannon and Anne. A viewing will be held at Riverdale-on-Hudson Funeral Home on Tuesday, June 28 from 4-7pm. A service will be held at St. Margaret of Crotona at 10:45 AM on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Interment Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
Rose was born in NYC in March of 1936, the middle daughter of James Clancy and Rose Diver. After being awarded a full academic scholarship, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the College of Mt. St. Vincent, and later earned two Master’s degrees. At twenty years of age, Rose became a math teacher and worked for nearly 4 decades in the New York City public education system— first as a teacher at Joan of Arc in Manhattan and PS 141 in Riverdale, and then as an administrator for the Division of Curriculum and Instruction at the Brooklyn headquarters of the Department of Education. She was beloved by scores of students and peers alike, and enjoyed a well-deserved retirement in 1992.
A long-time resident of the Bronx, Rose was a fixture in the St. Margaret’s parish community. On most days, she could be found holding court in the first floor of her Post Road home, entertaining friends and family with advice, support, stories, and near-constant offers of food and drink.
In her personal time, she treasured vacations with her immediate family, whether it was on a cruise ship to the Caribbean or a leisurely weekend down the shore at her second home in Ocean Grove, N.J., where she was a member of the Ascension parish in Bradley Beach. She was a woman of many simple pleasures: a good book, a nice meal, an episode of ‘Jeopardy,’ a feisty game of cards. She usually spoke softly but always laughed loudly, and the world is a little quieter with her passing.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations could be made in her name to the New York Public Library at the following link: