Obituary of Lennelle McKinnon

Canton, NY-

Lennelle McKinnon, 88, of Jay Street, died peacefully, and with her children beside her, on March 28th at the Canton Potsdam Hospital. Lennie or Len, as she was known to friends and family, was born in her grandparents’ home in East Stone Gap, VA in 1935, and was their first grandchild.  In the early years of her life she lived with her parents, Dorothea (Matz) and Ed Dougherty in Gate City, VA, in her grandmother’s boarding house with many family members nearby, including aunts and uncles who were her dear playmates.  After her father’s tragic death in a car accident, she moved to Columbus, Ohio, where she and her mother lived with her Aunt Gay (Matz) and Uncle Herman Bobbitt, and her two cousins, brothers to her, Randy and Jim.  When her mother remarried Len’s much beloved stepfather, Swede Larsen, who shared the same birthday as his new stepdaughter, Len stayed on with her aunt and uncle throughout her schooling years, as her parents had to relocate repeatedly while Swede built many bridges and tunnels throughout the country. 

Lennelle graduated in 1954 as valedictorian from Grandview Heights High School in Columbus, where she cultivated lifelong friendships, played multiple sports and participated in many clubs and activities. She went on to St. Lawrence University, sight unseen, and it was there she met her husband of forty two years, and best friend, Bernie McKinnon, in a town and at a school that would become the center of their world. At St. Lawrence Lennie was a member of her beloved Delta Delta Delta sorority, serving as vice president of the house in her senior year, and was inducted into Qwens, the Irving Bacheller Society, and Phi Beta Kappa.  Lennie graduated in 1958, majoring in English with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and a year later, on October 4th, 1959, she and Bernie were married.  In the few short years Lennie and Bernie were away from Canton, Lennie taught at Oceanside High School on Long Island, they had two children, and Lennie earned a Master of Arts Degree from Hofstra University.

When they returned to Canton in 1964, Bernie started his Master’s Degree in Education at St. Lawrence, and Lennie worked as the assistant in the St. Lawrence University English department until she took a job, teaching English, at Knox Memorial Central School in Russell, where she would remain for 31 years, retiring in 1996.  Lennie loved her students and the Russell community, directed the senior class play each year, often rewriting slightly the plays she chose to highlight local people or places, and understood well the privilege of teaching multiple generations of families.  She challenged her students to grow and achieve in ways even they did not know were possible.  As her children we always knew we would encounter one of our mother’s many students wherever we went when at home, and always relished the story that our father managed to get out of a speeding ticket once, just because he was married to “Mrs. McKinnon!”

Having both been raised by family members other than their parents, life came full circle for Lennie and Bernie when their niece, Cathy-Anne Morrison, joined their family and became another daughter bringing joy to their lives. Lennie was an amazing mother, cooking family dinner for her clan every night, often adding one of our dad’s players to a seat at the round oak table, typing our papers, scrubbing our uniforms, all before she got to her students’ papers.  She never missed a game or a concert, relishing in and supporting us in our passions, and continued her role as #1 fan for her grandchildren as she celebrated their many endeavors, whether that meant one short car ride or a hundred long ones.

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While Lennelle was honored for her work as an educator by Delta Kappa Gamma and Kappa Delta Pi, was inducted into the ODK Teaching Honor Society, and was honored by St. Lawrence with an Alumni Citation, more important to her was her involvement in myriad volunteer organizations and activities in the St. Lawrence and Canton communities. She served as an alumni advisor to the Delta house, as a reporter for her beloved Class of 1958, and as a member of the Alumni Council.  She worked tirelessly for over thirty years with the Canton Potsdam Hospital Guild, often spearheading their annual golf tournament and Hollyberry Bazaar.   She served on the board at the Canton Public Library and was a loving and supportive “team mom” to years and years of Bernie’s teams, both men and women.  An avid traveler, she visited 47 of the 50 states, and explored the world beyond the US and Canada, often leading the journey, whether for students or adults, to places like Europe, Australia, China, and Kenya; she even transited the Panama Canal. As a devoted golfer, she and Bernie toured England, Scotland, and Ireland to play the legendary and ancient courses.   Back home, Lennelle was a long time member of the St. Lawrence Golf Club, where she was club champion seven times.  The wins she celebrated most, however, were when the women’s team, on which she was deeply honored to earn a spot, won the Northern New York.  She cherished the camaraderie, competition, friendship and beauty she found in her time at the golf course.

Lennelle delighted in a game of charades, was an avid and competitive card player, and loved to play bridge and in her retirement years, Mah Jong, with her many friends.  Even as a little girl, she treasured the movies, sometimes two in a day, and was a regular at the American Theater for the last sixty years.  Indeed, she had a great passion for all the arts, and attended and supported local theater both locally and across the border, and attended many musical concerts whether at Potsdam State or during a lovely summer evening on a local green.  Friends and family were everything to her, and she and Bernie enjoyed lifelong relationships with her beloved Matz family, primarily living in the southern United States, with Bernie’s family in Canada and Maryland, and with their dear friends whom they met through St. Lawrence, the golf course, Canton, Russell, and the other north country communities they so dearly loved and were proud to call home.  

Lennie is predeceased by her husband and life partner, Bernie, who died in 2000.   Survivors include three children: Son Michael (Liz) McKinnon of Boston, MA; two daughters, Cathy-Anne "Kitty" (Charlie) Morrison of Frederick, MD and Christina (John) Cooper of Spofford, NH;  six grandchildren: Corey (Amelia) Cooper, Boston; Brady (Brenna) Cooper, Windsor, CT; Charlie Morrison, Monroe, North Carolina; Zach Morrison, Murfreesborough, TN, Luke (Rachel Abernethy) McKinnon, Milton, MA; and Claire McKinnon, Boston.

No one lives independently in their lifelong home without the help and support

of their friends and community. Her family would like to express deep gratitude to Linda Kenny, Lowena Bristol, the Blewetts and the dozens of others who helped Lennie remain at her beloved Jay Street home by providing rides and meals, of course, but most of all by sharing their love and company.

The family is planning a Celebration of Life to be held at 11 am at Gunnison Chapel, St. Lawrence University, on Saturday, July 27th, with a reception to follow.   The family encourages folks to wear blue, our Mom’s favorite color, or of course, the scarlet and the brown.   Contributions in Lennelle's memory may be made to the The McKinnon Family Travel Fund, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY 13617, a fund meant to create further opportunities for students traveling abroad, or to any of the local charities she so loved and supported. Online condolences may be made at www.lawrencefuneralhome.org.