Betty McKENNA

McKENNA, Betty After a fifteen year on and off battle with breast cancer, Betty (VanderMolen) McKenna died May 20, 2017, at her home in Austin, TX, at the age of 72. Betty is survived by her two daughters, Amy (McKenna) Smith (husband Mike) and Jennifer (McKenna) Rosenblad (husband Brent, sons Ben and Owen), her partner of 32 years Steve Carter, his daughters Sharlyn(Carter) Heslam (husband Bill, daughters Carter, Lily, and Clara), and Anna Belle (Dolezal) Williams (husband Rob, sons Luke and Zach), and by Steve's stepson, Russell Smith (daughter, Madison). Betty is also survived by her niece Kathy (Hannah) Purdy and her nephew Lee Hannah. Betty was born August 25, 1944, in Berwyn, IL, to Clarence and Catherine (Loekle) VanderMolen. After moving to Tucson, AZ, she attended and graduated from Rincon High School. She then attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she graduated with a B.S. in Civil Engineering in 1966 and a Master's degree in 1967. She was one of 17 women to graduate in her class of 900 students, and lived in McCormick Hall, MIT's first women's dormitory, when it opened in 1963. Growing up Betty was very close with her sister Karen Hannah and her aunt Luella VanderMolen. She spent her summers with her grandparents and aunt in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, IL. There she enjoyed playing tennis, reading, and working at the Museum of Science and Industry as a tour guide for the U-505 submarine exhibit. Her family continued to be amazed that she could remember her entire U-boat tour script fifty years later. While working at the museum, she met Bill McKenna, who became her spouse and the father of her children. During her career with International Business Machines, Betty exemplified the company's "I've Been Moved" culture, working and living in many places in the United States, including Fort Walton Beach, FL, Mount Arlington, NJ, Thousand Oaks, CA, and Georgetown/Austin, TX. Betty had a successful career as an IBM Systems Engineer, Marketing Representative, and Product Manager. In 1983, Betty, Steve, and two co-workers left IBM to found Renaissance Systems, Inc., an Austin based computer sales and services company. In 1984 Betty became president of the company and led it to 12 more years of growth and success, before she and Steve sold the company in 1996. Above all, Betty loved spending time with her family. As Betty and Steve's grandchildren grew, she loved to attend their sporting events and cheer their success on the field. Later, Betty had a home on the Lake of the Ozarks, in Missouri, where she and Steve lived six months out of the year, and where she did much of her post-career fishing and boating. Betty loved to travel with her family, and went on several vacations to Europe, Asia, and throughout the United States and Canada. She especially enjoyed her trips to Paris and Hawaii, with her 70th birthday trip to Kauai being very memorable. Betty loved baseball and was a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan. She attended many Cubs games, at Wrigley Field, and at opposing stadiums in the mid-west. In the past few years, she and Steve went on several baseball tours, visiting stadiums and attending games on the east and west coasts. As a spectator, Betty didn't enjoy close games. What became known as a "Betty Game" was when her favorite team established a sizable early lead and then won without any fear of the other team making a comeback. Betty was also not particularly fond of "suspense" in other forms, and would frequently read the last page of her detective novels first. In her free time she also took great pleasure knitting sweaters for her multiple granddogs. 2016 was a great year for Betty. First, in June, she attended her 50th class reunion at MIT, reconnecting with thirteen of her coed classmates, and enjoying every moment catching up with all of her former friends and classmates. On November 2nd she watched her beloved and long suffering Cubs win the World Series. What a great year it was. The family extends its sincere thanks to Hospice Austin for their care and support of Betty. In lieu of any flowers please send donations there.