ESTHER H. (RICE) MCKENNA

Esther Hope (Rice) McKenna, 99, of Blacksburg, passed away on Thursday, June 10, 2011, in her 100th year. She was born on August 27, 1911, in Decatur, Ind., the second child of Clyde McClellan Rice and Etta Mae (Warner) Rice.

The Rice and Warner families were first settlers of Northern Indiana, homesteading in the 1830s. Esther's family left the farm and moved to South Bend, Ind., where she graduated from South Bend High School in 1929.

An outstanding athlete nicknamed "Archie," she participated in Varsity Swimming, Volley Ball, Track, and Field Hockey. She then attended Battle Creek College majoring in Physical Education and excelled in Field Hockey, Swimming, and Basketball while there. Battle Creek College was created by John Harvey Kellogg of the "cereal Kelloggs" and was arguably the best physical education program in the country at that time.
She received her BS from Battle Creek in 1933 and returned to work as a physical education instructor at South Bend High School after graduation. She shared the program with John Wooten, who later led UCLA to basketball heights. In 1939 she received a Master of Arts Degree from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

She married John Francis McKenna in 1941 and they had one child, James Richard McKenna, born in 1942. John served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, receiving a bronze star and two purple hearts.
Esther put her professional life on hold until her son was in the 7th grade. She then returned to education, teaching second grade. During this time she was the supervising teacher for many beginning teachers and was elected a "Master Teacher" by the school system.

She retired from teaching in 1968 and began a new career as a farm hand in Houlton, Maine. She spent the next 10 years helping her son with a Certified Seed Potato and Dairy farm operation. Esther followed her son, first to the Valley of Virginia and then to Blacksburg where he joined the faculty at Virginia Tech. In Blacksburg she lived at Trollenger and later the Showalter Center at Warm Hearth Village. She completed her life at Heritage Hall in Blacksburg.

Esther was preceded in death by her parents; her older sister, Dorothy (Rice) Layman; her two younger siblings, David Rice and Marjorie Rice; and her husband, John.

She is survived by her son James and daughter-in-law, Debra McKenna, of Blacksburg; her grandchildren, David R. McKenna, of Craig County, Va., Catherine J. McKenna, of Washington, D.C., and Jennifer L. Oakes, of Bethesda, Md. In addition, there are five greatgrandchildren whom called her "Grandma the Great," Sara and Richard McKenna, Annabelle Vinnacota, and Gabriel and Michael Oakes.

The family would like to express their thanks for the retirement years at Warm Hearth she experienced and the care she received at Heritage Hall.

A Memorial Service will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 14, 2011, in the McCoy Funeral Home Chapel. The family will receive friends immediately following the service at McCoy Funeral Home, 150 Country Club Drive, SW, Blacksburg.

Published by Roanoke Times from Jun. 11 to Jun. 12, 2011.

04/30/2023 EJS

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