Obituary for Kevin Sean McNally
Kevin McNally of Plymouth, MA passed away on October 25, 2020 at the age of 79. He suffered a stroke a year and a half earlier and fought a valiant battle to stay with his wife, children, and grandchildren as long as he did.
Kevin grew up in the Bronx and worked his way through night classes at Fordham University while working at the A&P grocery store where his dad had also worked. Once he graduated, he went on to a 35-year career at GMAC.
But what was closest to his heart, in addition to his family, was faith and service work. He served people through annual mission trips to Johns Island South Carolina, Machias Maine, Ghana, and Nicaragua. He was also a member of the Duxbury Interfaith Council, the Kiwanis, the Treasurer of the Nicaragua Covenant and the Treasurer of Harbor United Methodist Church. He spent many hours every holiday making sure people in material need received a basket full of food and gifts. He liked to joke that he was busier in retirement than when he was working.
He loved to travel “home” to Ireland where his father was from and was delighted to have backpacked El Camino de Santiago several times with his wife in their retired years.
Kevin was an avid reader and lifelong learner who especially loved books and discussions on history, politics, and the Bible. He allowed his experiences meeting many different people to inform and mold his views over time. For Kevin, every time of day was a good time for coffee.
He could build anything from scratch from a swingset for his children to a giant cage for their pet iguanas and enjoyed updating his house with his son-in-law. On his mission trips, he built countless ramps to give people better access to their homes.
He is survived by his devoted wife of 45 years, Joanne McNally; his sons and daughter-in laws Christopher McNally and Heather McNally, and Goch Angok and Alek Dau; his daughter and son-in-law Erin Diaz and Darwin Diaz; grandchildren Samuel, Gabriella, Abuk, Akoi, Deng, Yom and Bun; and sisters Christine Saunders and Karen Santucci, and their families.
A celebration of his life will be held in the coming weeks. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to El Porvenir, an organization close to Kevin’s heart in Nicaragua which works to bring clean water and sanitation to rural areas.
Kevin grew up in the Bronx and worked his way through night classes at Fordham University while working at the A&P grocery store where his dad had also worked. Once he graduated, he went on to a 35-year career at GMAC.
But what was closest to his heart, in addition to his family, was faith and service work. He served people through annual mission trips to Johns Island South Carolina, Machias Maine, Ghana, and Nicaragua. He was also a member of the Duxbury Interfaith Council, the Kiwanis, the Treasurer of the Nicaragua Covenant and the Treasurer of Harbor United Methodist Church. He spent many hours every holiday making sure people in material need received a basket full of food and gifts. He liked to joke that he was busier in retirement than when he was working.
He loved to travel “home” to Ireland where his father was from and was delighted to have backpacked El Camino de Santiago several times with his wife in their retired years.
Kevin was an avid reader and lifelong learner who especially loved books and discussions on history, politics, and the Bible. He allowed his experiences meeting many different people to inform and mold his views over time. For Kevin, every time of day was a good time for coffee.
He could build anything from scratch from a swingset for his children to a giant cage for their pet iguanas and enjoyed updating his house with his son-in-law. On his mission trips, he built countless ramps to give people better access to their homes.
He is survived by his devoted wife of 45 years, Joanne McNally; his sons and daughter-in laws Christopher McNally and Heather McNally, and Goch Angok and Alek Dau; his daughter and son-in-law Erin Diaz and Darwin Diaz; grandchildren Samuel, Gabriella, Abuk, Akoi, Deng, Yom and Bun; and sisters Christine Saunders and Karen Santucci, and their families.
A celebration of his life will be held in the coming weeks. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to El Porvenir, an organization close to Kevin’s heart in Nicaragua which works to bring clean water and sanitation to rural areas.