Catherine P. McEneney

Catherine P. McEneney, age 92, of Woodlawn and Long Beach, NY, passed away peacefully on September 30 after an extraordinary life of compassion, joy and the strength to overcome everything life threw at her. She departed exactly the way she wanted-after a week of hanging on to give everyone a chance to say their goodbyes, she died not in a hospital, but in her own bed in her own home surrounded by her family and some close friends.

Cathy was born in 1933 on Saint Patrick's Day (March 17) in Manhattan, NY to Catherine and Charles Walsh-she was the third member of the six legendary Walsh girls. She attended Visitation Elementary School and St. Barnabas H.S (both in the Bronx) before obtaining a degree from Grace Institute in Manhattan. After graduating Grace, she immediately became a highly successful Executive Assistant known for her ability to get large quantities of work done with excellence, at high speed and with good cheer, qualities that would serve her well in what was to come next-her 68 year role as chief architect and conductor of a key branch of the McEneney clan.

On June 15, 1957, she married her beloved husband Michael F. McEneney beginning a marriage that would span more than 68 years and bestow countless moments of joy on countless people. After a brief honeymoon she moved into the McEneney family homes which, in family tradition, were already occupied by the two remaining unmarried McEneney men-Mike's brother Edward J. and their uncle also named Edward J. Fortunately, she was a very strong woman because the three McEneney men had been living on their own for some time and required significant retraining. She also was an excellent cook which came in quite handy because the three men were "McEneney sized," which is to say that each required a daily caloric intake well above the recommended 2,000 calorie standard.

Nine months later (March 1958), she gave birth to her first child Michael F. III and followed with Catherine P. (March 1959) and Theresa A. (April 1960). Two years later she gave birth to her youngest child, Clare M. (June 1962). Cathy always wanted a large family and while she gave birth to "only" four children of her own, her family building never ended--she left this world with countless people she treated as if they were her own children, many of whom called her "Mama Mac."

She was a Catholic girl through and through and took very seriously her responsibility to pass along to her children the lessons and mysteries of the family religion. When her children were too young to read, she told biblical stories in a way both riveting and entertaining. As soon as her kids were old enough to read, she found and gave them a children's version of the Bible, complete with fascinating pictures and illustrations.

This was all a fundamental part of her approach to motherhood-everything that could be fun should be made fun, including for herself. During the fall and winter the family lived in their Woodlawn house where trips to the playground were frequent occurrences. Once she had her children situated, she would select an apparatus for herself where she would demonstrate how a child should behave when playing-essentially fearlessly and with abandon. The swing set was a favorite where she would perform in ways that were both exhilarating and terrifying for her children. She believed that to use a swing properly one must rise well above the horizontal bar on the backswing achieving slack in the chains or ropes attaching the swing. Once she felt she had taken maximum advantages of the physics of the swing she would launch herself on the downswing, flying over the fence supposedly designed to limit the "swing area" and "sticking" the landing like a giant (5'11") Russian gymnast. She would then work her way through the other playground stations almost never using any of them in accordance with their original design. When snow fell, she would lead snowball fights, snow cave building expeditions, and sleigh rides featuring devices she herself procured including early generation snow boards and a ten-foot aluminum toboggan (from Sears Robuck) that was used in ways "unsafe at any speed."

When summer came, the family would immediately go to their house in Long Beach on Long Island where virtually every day was spent in or on the water. She would wake up early, get Mike off to work, do all the household work she planned for herself and then take the kids to the beach. Once on the beach, she was up for anything-swimming, body surfing, boogey boarding, mud ball fights, building castles, tossing frisbees, playing catch (football or baseball), digging holes deep enough to hit water and anything else she or her kids could dream up.

When the family procured its first boat, ostensibly for fishing, Edward J. the elder gave her a pair of water skis and the fishing was put on hold while she pursued her water-skiing career. How a girl who spent all her life in the landlocked Bronx got up on water skis on her first try is anyone's guess but she was an extraordinary athlete so no one should have been surprised. After a couple of years of almost getting run over by men with big boats and zero boating skills she brought her skiing career to an end and the boat was returned to its original purpose-fishing.

Once all four kids were in school, she adapted once more, identifying or creating more things to do, most of which revolved around her children. She led girl scout troops, volunteered for the Mother's Club, substitute teaching, chaperoning field trips and welcoming and entertaining the constant stream of children her kids brought through the house. Always the athlete she was her son's athletic trainer in chief and dissatisfied with the lack of sporting opportunies available to girls, she founded a girls softball program, the first of its kind in the neighborhood.

While all of this was going on, she and her husband Mike (aka "Mr. Mac") were busy building an empire of friends-lifelong friends of all generations who together with extended family filled the houses with laughter and good cheer for nearly seven decades.

Her next chapter-that of mother-in-law and grandmother began in 1981 when Teri married Charles ("Chuck") Johnson and a year later gave birth to Lauren. Not long after, Cathie followed and married Dr. John ("Juancho") Chan. Michael followed next and married Victoria ("Vicky") in 1988 and, not long after, Clare married Michael Hermann.

In all, the four McEneney kids produced 11 grandchildren and, so far, 13 great grandchildren. They are as follows (spouses and great grandchildren in parentheses): Lauren (sp. Armen), Gregory, Chuckie (sp. Nicole, children Charles Jr., Alana and Jenna) and Veronica Johnson (sp. Dan and children David and Owen); Matthew (daughter Abigail), Christopher (sp. Adrianne, children Ani and Kit), Catherine (sp. Billy, child Catherine) and John Michael Chan (sp. Jules, daughter Remi); Victoria Hermann (sp. Travis, children Bennett, Hunter, and Sullivan); and Michael IV and Alexandra ("Mita") McEneney.

Cathy treasured these people one and all. She ignored the "in-law" designation and treated all the spouses as her own. Her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren filled her heart with pride, love and joy.

She lived her life to the fullest and in her final days openly acknowledged she was "at peace" and felt "filled with love." She took advantage of every moment of joy life served up (or she created) and she handled every hardship life threw her way. But she would not escape one final heartbreak. On April 17, 2025, her beloved grandson Chuckie Johnson passed away from complications related to the terrible disease known as ALS. Chuckie was a giant of a human being both in stature and in spirit and his enormous presence will always be missed.

She always said there was no greater pain than that of a parent losing a child but judging from the way Cathy suffered losing her grandson and watching her daughter lose a child, losing a grandchild must be a close second. But in response to such tragedy, she did what she always did-got up every morning and comforted everyone she could and took care of everyone who needed care.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 68 years, her brilliant sister Mary (the original Walsh girl) her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. She leaves behind a legacy of love, compassion, laughter and tremendous strength and the countless people whose lives she made better just by being here.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Catherine's memory can be made to support the Daughters of Charity. Please click HERE to donate.

The family will be present on Thursday, October 2nd, 2025 from 4-9 PM & Friday, October 3rd, 2025 from 2-4 & 6-9 PM at Ruggiero & Sons Funeral Home & Cremation Services - 732 Yonkers Avenue- Yonkers, New York 10704 (914) 375-1400 www.FRSWFH.com. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 AM on Saturday, October 4th, 2025 at Saint Barnabas Church - 409 East 241st Street- Bronx, New York 10470. Following the Mass, Catherine will be laid to rest at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 10 West Stevens Avenue- Hawthorne, New York 10532.