Josephine (Jo) Beatty was called from this life to the presence of her beloved Lord, on March 17.
Jo was born in the Inwood neighborhood of Manhattan on July 27 1937, to Thomas and Nora (née Elliott) McKenna, who were both emigrants from County Monaghan, Ireland. During her youth, Jo lived on Isham Street in Inwood, where she and her family were members of Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Parish on Broadway.
Her teen and early adult years were spent in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx, and she proudly graduated from St. Frances Xavier Cabrini High School in 1955. Through the years after moving away from New York City, Jo lived in Wantagh, N.Y., Stony Point, N.Y., Farmington and Granby, Conn., lastly in Peachtree City, Ga., where she was a parishioner at Holy Trinity Catholic Church for 20 years.
Jo loved Irish Music, was a capable tap and Irish dancer, and always took great pride in her Irish roots. No doubt, in Heaven, she will be pleased that she passed away on St. Patrick’s Day. She was able to solve cryptographic puzzles with startling speed, and she showed great skill at re-drawing cartoon characters that were in the comics section of her daily newspaper. She was a devout Roman Catholic through her entire life, and her favorite daily prayers were the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
Jo is survived by her brother, Eamon McKenna, and two sons Kevin (Penny) Beatty of Big Canoe Ga., and Tom (Angela) from Haddonfield. She was blessed with 6 grandchildren, Lauren (John) Hurdt, Allison (fiancée Tim Coats), Brooke, Ben, Sam, and Kate Beatty, and her nieces/nephew Ann Darby (Scott) Atherton, Diane Darby (Dan) Buckley, Joan Darby (Pat) Nill, Carolyn McKenna, Kathleen McKenna, Thomas McKenna, and Mary Jo Darby. She is also survived by her former husband, John Beatty of Senoia, Ga., the father of her children.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved sister, Maureen McKenna Darby, her brother-in law, James Darby, and her dear friend and sister-in-law, Helen (Bunny) McKenna.
A graveside service was held on March 20 at Westminster Memorial Gardens, Peachtree City.
