Ruth M. McInerney

RUTH M. McINERNEY

HORNELL-Ruth M. McInerney, 82, a resident of McAuley Manor, passed away late Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 20, 2008) at St. James Mercy Hospital in Hornell.
Born in Hornell on April 22, 1925, she was a daughter of the late Harlo H. and Mary Isabelle Monahan Clark. On May 8, 1946 she was married in Pennsylvania to John J. “Mac” McInerney, Sr., who predeceased her on November 20, 1972, after 26 years of marriage. Besides her parents and husband, she was also predeceased by her son-in-law, Richard Dieter and her two stepdaughters, Julia M. Almond and Dorothy L. Shank.
A life long resident of Hornell, Ruth was a graduate of Hornell High School.
She was employed as nurses’ aide on the Pediatric Ward of St. James Mercy Hospital, as a cook for Sambo’s Restaurant, as an engine dispatcher for the former Erie Railroad and retired from Loohn’s Cleaners in Hornell. Before working outside her home she provided care for children of her friends.
Ruth was a member of Our Lady of the Valley Parish and was a communicant of St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Hornell. She was a member of the Arthur H. Cunningham American Legion Post No. 440 Auxiliary, a life member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Cpl. J.J. Mooney VFW Post No. 2250 in Hornell, a member of the FOE Auxiliary Post No. 3904 in Addison and a former member of the Women of the Moose, Hornell Lodge No. 210, where she catered numerous weddings and Friday Night Fish Fries. For many years she served on the Board of Directors of the Hornell High School Alumni Association. Earlier she volunteered for the American Cancer Society and for several years she was in charge of the fund raiser for the local American Heart Association. In the mid 1950’s she managed the concession stand for the Hornell Little League. In her later years she especially enjoyed her luncheon outings with her good friend, Elizabeth “Liz” Wilcox.
She will be remembered most of all for her true passion for cooking and helping others.
Her family includes her two children, Thomas J. (Julie) McInerney of Hornell and Maruth Dieter of Dansville; her four stepchildren, John J. “Jack” McInerney of Hornell, Renee’ P. (Stefan) Haller of Hermosa Beach, Calif., Michael F. McInerney of Palm Springs, Calif. and Joseph William (Maxine) McInerney of Sho Low, Az.; her seven grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild; nine step grandchildren, 14 step-great-grandchildren and 15 step great-great-grandchildren; her four siblings, Marylou Kelleher, Helen Jean (Robert) Kubiak, Robert Clark and James Clark all of Hornell and her 10 nieces and nephews.
Calling hours are from 3-7 p.m. Sunday at the Bishop & Johnson Funeral Home, Inc., 285 Main St., Hornell. Friends are invited to meet her family at St. Ignatius Loyola Church where a Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday. Committal prayers and interment will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Town of Fremont.
Those wishing may contribute in her memory to either the Hornell High School Alumni Association, PO Box 135, Hornell or to St. Ann’s School Memorial Fund, 27 Erie Ave., Hornell, NY 14843. Envelopes for memorial contributions will be available at the funeral home.