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Services
Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne. An 8 PM Funeral Service will be held during the visitation hours.
Cheryl O’Leary (McKenna) age 65 of Pompton Lakes passed peacefully on Friday, December 25, 2015.
She was born in Jersey City and raised in Hoboken until the age of ten when the family moved to Pompton Lakes. Cheryl graduated from Pompton Lakes High School with the Class of 1969. During high school she worked for an eye doctor in Pompton Lakes and after graduating high school she found work at an eye doctors office in Wayne. For nineteen years she worked as a bar tender at her brothers’ Robert and Kenny’s pub, McKenna’s in Pompton Lakes. When they closed the pub she found work at the Becton Dickinison Corporation in Franklin Lakes where she worked for over ten years before retiring in 2011.
Cheryl will be remembered as an all around good person who was always fun to be with. She was funny, would do anything for you, and was always putting others before herself. Her sister and best friend Maureen “Sissy” was often found by her side. Casino trips to the slot machines and roulette tables in Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun, and Sands were something she loved. She also loved going to the Jersey Shore. When her children were younger the family, including all the cousins, would rent summer bungalows in Keansburg. Once the children got older the family would rent a house at Long Beach Island and more recently Wildwood during the summer. Cheryl loved the beach and loved sharing that joy with her grandchildren. They joy they brought her, especially seeing them enjoy the beach, was something she will treasure for eternity.
When asked if Cheryl had a love of animals the room suddenly became quiet. When she was a young girl she enjoyed going to the Pompton Lakes pet store and petting what she says was a lion. One day this lion was a bit agitated and when Cheryl got up to leave she was bitten on the rear end. From that day on she had a fear of all kinds of pets, especially cats.
Cheryl was the loving mother of Bryon Zack of Pompton Lakes, and Kristoffer Zack and his wife Tammy of Butler; cherished grandmother of Bailey, Nicholas, and Kelsey Zack; dear sister of Maureen “Sissy” DeBonta and her husband Elliott of Pompton Lakes, Kenneth J. McKenna of Wayne, Robert J. McKenna of Lake Hopatcong, the late John J. McKenna and his surviving wife Maria; she was also dearly loved by several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Pompton Lakes Fire Department, 1 Passaic Ave., Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442 would be appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne. An 8 PM Funeral Service will be held during the visitation hours.
Services
Friends may visit with the family on Wednesday, December 30, 2015 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne. An 8 PM Funeral Service will be held during the visitation hours.
Cheryl O’Leary (McKenna) age 65 of Pompton Lakes passed peacefully on Friday, December 25, 2015.
She was born in Jersey City and raised in Hoboken until the age of ten when the family moved to Pompton Lakes. Cheryl graduated from Pompton Lakes High School with the Class of 1969. During high school she worked for an eye doctor in Pompton Lakes and after graduating high school she found work at an eye doctors office in Wayne. For nineteen years she worked as a bar tender at her brothers’ Robert and Kenny’s pub, McKenna’s in Pompton Lakes. When they closed the pub she found work at the Becton Dickinison Corporation in Franklin Lakes where she worked for over ten years before retiring in 2011.
Cheryl will be remembered as an all around good person who was always fun to be with. She was funny, would do anything for you, and was always putting others before herself. Her sister and best friend Maureen “Sissy” was often found by her side. Casino trips to the slot machines and roulette tables in Atlantic City, Mohegan Sun, and Sands were something she loved. She also loved going to the Jersey Shore. When her children were younger the family, including all the cousins, would rent summer bungalows in Keansburg. Once the children got older the family would rent a house at Long Beach Island and more recently Wildwood during the summer. Cheryl loved the beach and loved sharing that joy with her grandchildren. They joy they brought her, especially seeing them enjoy the beach, was something she will treasure for eternity.
When asked if Cheryl had a love of animals the room suddenly became quiet. When she was a young girl she enjoyed going to the Pompton Lakes pet store and petting what she says was a lion. One day this lion was a bit agitated and when Cheryl got up to leave she was bitten on the rear end. From that day on she had a fear of all kinds of pets, especially cats.
Cheryl was the loving mother of Bryon Zack of Pompton Lakes, and Kristoffer Zack and his wife Tammy of Butler; cherished grandmother of Bailey, Nicholas, and Kelsey Zack; dear sister of Maureen “Sissy” DeBonta and her husband Elliott of Pompton Lakes, Kenneth J. McKenna of Wayne, Robert J. McKenna of Lake Hopatcong, the late John J. McKenna and his surviving wife Maria; she was also dearly loved by several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Pompton Lakes Fire Department, 1 Passaic Ave., Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442 would be appreciated.
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