McKenna, James Francis (1917-2011)
MCKENNA, SMITH, SHELLENBERGER, CHAMPLIN, RATHKE, OSTERMAN, STRADER, CASLAVKA, FAGAN, PARROTT
Posted By: Paul Nagy (email)
Date: 4/30/2011 at 16:29:27
James Francis McKenna
April 25, 1917 - April 26, 2011
Storm Lake, IowaJames Francis McKenna, age 94, passed away surrounded by family on Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at the Buena Vista Manor in Storm Lake after a successful and fulfilling life.
James Francis McKenna was born on a family farm three miles west and one and half miles north of Early, Iowa, on April 25, 1917, to Alma (Smith) and John McKenna. Both John and Alma were from farming families and very accustomed to hard work and living off the land.
Jim joined John and Alma’s growing family which already included an older sister, Loretta. Throughout the years, siblings Margery, Melvin, Bernard and Donald would come along. With six children, John and Alma found their family complete.
Farm life proved to be a wonderful blessing with many opportunities to learn life’s “little” lessons. Those lessons weren’t in the school room, but at the side of Grandpa Smith. Jim remembered one in particular when a boy picked a fight with him at the age of twelve. After Jim told his Grandpa about the altercation, Grandpa Smith said, “There is good and bad in all of us. However, there is more good than bad in the worst of us.”
Jim attended country school through fifth grade; he completed grades six through ten at the Sacred Heart School in Early, Iowa, and graduated from Nemaha High School in Nemaha, Iowa, at the age of 16. Jim’s journey to college graduation was filled with determination and tenacity. He stayed home the first year after his high school graduation to help on the family farm. The next year he attended Buena Vista College and then returned home for two more years. In the fall of 1937, Jim found himself at Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa, attending school full-time and working at the ISU Beef Barn part-time—pulling down a hard-earned $.25 an hour.
Even with his rigorous work and school life, Jim served on both the dairy and livestock judging teams and traveled to Waterloo, Iowa, Chicago, Illinois, and Kansas City, Missouri, for various competitions. Graduating from Ames in the spring of 1940, Jim felt ready to take on the world.
His first job took him to Fort Dodge, Iowa, where he took over as the Webster County 4-H Club Agent. Jim worked as the county agent for two years. During this time, he met his “bossy babe.” Jim’s cousin, Rose Evelyn Shellenberger introduced Jim to Marye Champlin, one of her fellow nursing students. The two began dating. As Marye was finishing up her RN degree and Jim was enjoying his 4-H job, they might have wondered what more could happen? Enter – World War II.
On March 31, 1942, Jim enlisted in the Navy. Accepted as an aviation cadet, he became a Navy-trained, Marine pilot. As a registered nurse, Marye also joined the Navy. Together, they would serve their country. After a series of different training camps, Jim served his country for nearly three years as a pilot while living in places such as Guam and Guadalcanal.
The morning of February 4, 1945, Jim and Marye married at Our Lady of Victory Chapel at Camp Pendleton, California. They then moved to Alexandria, Virginia, where Jim finished out his tour of duty. Life was good, they were good, everything was coming up “Roses” – literally!
Jim and Marye’s next five years took them from managing a diversified livestock farm outside Elgin, Illinois, to opening up a grain elevator in Vincent, Iowa. All the while, they were adding to their family.
Their life really turned around when Jim and Marye got the chance to buy a farm near Storm Lake, Iowa. Here, on the Geisinger Road, they made their home, put eight children through St. Mary’s Catholic School, and taught them to be good stewards of the earth. Grandkids by the dozen came along, playing on Grandpa’s farm, riding the ponies, climbing apple trees and turning the farmhouse music room into a playhouse, a dance stage or a place for a slumber party. Popcorn was always a must!
In 1980, they built a home on the lake in Storm Lake, but Jim did not officially retire from farming until 2001. Throughout the years, he was an active member of the Buena Vista County Pork Producers, the Buena Vista County Farm Bureau, the ISU Extension Council, and the Knights of Columbus. He also served on the Board of Directors for the Buena Vista Regional Medical Center. In 1958, he was honored as the Buena Vista County Master Pork Producer.
Jim enjoyed farming, playing cards, spending time with his family, and sharing remarkable stories and experiences with all. He will be forever treasured as a generous, loyal, determined, brilliant and loving man. Jim was and always will be a true inspiration to all who knew him.
Those left to honor Jim’s memory include his children: Rosemarye (John) Rathke, of Copperas Cove, Texas, Michael McKenna, of Blakesburg, Iowa, Kathleen (Bruce) Osterman, of Sibley, Iowa, Kevin (Jan) McKenna, of Storm Lake, Iowa, Maureen (Brad) Strader, of Storm Lake, Iowa, Stephen McKenna, of Storm Lake, Iowa, Teresa (Brian) Caslavka, of Muscatine, Iowa, and Melissa (Dennis) Fagan, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; nineteen grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; his brother, Donald (Kay) McKenna, of Savoy, Illinois; and his sister, Margery Parrott, of Long Island, New York.
Preceding him in death were his loving wife of 59 years, Marye; his parents; two brothers; one sister; one granddaughter; and one daughter-in-law.
Visitation: 3-8:00 p.m. April 29, 2011, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Mass of Christian Burial: 10:00 a.m., April 30, 2011, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Vigil Service: 7:00 p.m. followed by a KC Rosary April 29, 2011, at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake, Iowa.
Interment: April 30, 2011, at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery in Storm Lake, Iowa.Copyright © 2011, Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home
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Buena Vista Obituaries maintained by Lynn Diemer-Mathews.
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