Rita Martin McKenna, 93, of Darien and West Hartford died March 18 with her loving family at her side.
Known for her quiet grace and elegance, she will be remembered as a devoted daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt and grandmother.
Rita McKenna, 93, died March 18. Her funeral will be on March 28.
Born in Weehawken, New Jersey, the youngest of two daughters of the late Augustus Joseph Martin and Marie Byrne Martin, Rita was raised in Manhasset, New York, where she attended St. Mary’s Elementary and Middle School.
Noted for her charm, Rita received accolades as Miss Manhasset of Long Island and Ms. Arnold Constable 1948. She graduated from Manhasset High School in 1949 and then Wheelock College, now the Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development, earning a bachelor’s degree as a member of the Class of 1953.
Rita went on to teach kindergarten in East Meadow, New York, and then Evanston, Illinois. After several years in education, she returned to New York City, and worked at the advertising agency of Cunningham & Walsh. While in New York, she met the late George Stephen McKenna, whom she married in 1962.
The couple settled in West Hartford, where Rita would reside for over 50 years. Her greatest joys were raising her five children and later spoiling her 19 grandchildren, who knew her as “Grammy.”
She served as treasurer of the West Hartford Garden Club, volunteered at the School for Young Children at the University of St. Joseph and was a member of both the Wampanoag Country Club of West Hartford and the Town & County Club of Hartford. She was an active parish member of Saint Timothy’s Church and communicant of the Church of St. Peter Claver in West Hartford.
Rita is survived by her five devoted children, George McKenna, Jr., and his wife Jean of Ridgewood, New Jersey, Mary McKenna Stockdale and her husband Stewart of Darien, Dr. Gregory McKenna and his wife Dr. Dorothy McKenna of Brookfield, Peter McKenna of Ridgewood, New Jersey, and Michael McKenna and his wife Ellen of Ridgewood, New Jersey.
She is also survived by her 19 cherished grandchildren: George McKenna, III, Leigh and Mary McKenna, Stewart Stockdale, Jr., Austen, Jack, Harrison, Ashley and Victoria Stockdale, Gregory McKenna, Jr., Meryl and Shaun McKenna, Jacqueline McKenna, Peter Jr., Christina and Meredith McKenna, Brooke McKenna, Courtney and Michael McKenna,Jr., as well as many wonderful nieces and nephews.
She was predeceased by George, her beloved husband of 50 years; her treasured sister, Marie Martin Hayes; and her brother-in-law, Richard Hayes.
Rita fondly remembered spending summers in Newport, Rhode Island, during her youth and always looked forward to vacationing with family in Martha’s Vineyard. Wherever Rita was going, she always hoped it would lead to a beach.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Friday, March 28, 2025 at the Church of St. Peter Claver, 47 Pleasant St., West Hartford, with a reception to follow. Interment will be private at St. Jerome Cemetery in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to the Saint Francis Hospital Oncology Department.
— an obituary from Molloy Funeral Home where online condolences may be left