Robert
Still McKernan, Sr. of Bradenton, FL and Guilford, CT, a railroad and
governmental relations official in Southern New England for more than 30 years,
died in Florida on April 24th. Vsitation will be at
the Guilford Funeral Home, 115 Church Street, Guilford, on Tuesday, May 1, from
6:00 to 8:00 pm. A Mass of Christian
Burial will be celebrated at St. George Church, 33 Whitfield Street, Guilford,
on Wednesday, May 2, at noon(?)
Born
June 23, 1922, in Brooklyn, NY, the son of the late Nelson Miles and Dorothy
Dent McKernan, he was raised in Larchmont, NY and Westport, CT. He served with the US Air Force in WWII and
graduated from Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA in 1948.
From
then until 1957, he was news editor of Radio Station WELI in New Haven, CT, and
during that period was local correspondent for ABC, United Press, NY Herald
Tribune and Newsweek. He then joined the
public relations department of The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad as
editor of the employee publication and became head of the department in 1962.
In
1968, he became Penn Central’s New England regional executive representative
and continued that role with Conrail until his retirement in 1990.
As
a resident of Hamden, CT, he served for eight years as a member of the Town
Planning and Zoning Commission and chaired its planning section for four
years. He had been a founding director
of the New Haven Better Business Bureau, a member of the transportation
committee of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce, and had served on the public
relations committees of a number or organizations, including the New Haven Red
Cross, the state blood program and the Connecticut Industrial Development
Council.
Before
retirement, he was a member of the Railroad Public Relations Association, vice
chairman of the Massachusetts Railroad Association, and served on a number of
legislative transportation task forces and study groups in Connecticut and New
England. He was the first honorary life
member of the New Haven Railroad Historical and Technical Association.
A
boating enthusiast, he was a member of the Guilford Marina Commission for 16
years and served a number of those years as its chairman, was a founding director
of the Connecticut Boating Coalition, and was an organizer and officer of the
Guilford Boat Owners Association
He
is survived by his wife Marilyn Balsis McKernan, sons Robert S. Jr.(Catherine) Rory
M. (Sue), and Malcolm N. all of CT, William H. of Australia; Douglas B. (Trish)
of NJ; a daughter F. Jo of NC,
grandchildren Kathryn (Michael) Reed, Michael (Tara), Christen (Edward)
Robbins, Rani, Rion Tolchin, Kieran, Dylan and Robert Riley, and great-granddaughters,
Brianna and Caitlyn Reed.
He
is also survived by a sister Jean Spence of FL, a brother John (Gwen) of MN, brother-in-law Lee Gray, and sisters-in-law Jeanine and Diane Balsis,
as well as his beloved nieces, nephews and their children. He was
predeceased by a sister Patricia Gray and brother-in-law Clarence Spence.
Memorial
contributions may be made to Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA),
706 Haddonfield Rd., Cherry Hill, NJ 08002 or Shriners Hospitals for Children,
Office of Development, 2900 Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment