Gary B. McKenney

Gary B. McKenney, 79, passed away at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center on Thursday, August 14, 2025. He was born on March 23, 1946 to Thomas and Sylvia McKenney (Luczko) in Weehawken, NJ, and grew up in Saugerties NY.

Gary attended Saugerties High School, where he enjoyed playing football and baseball. Upon graduating in 1964, he attended Salem State College in Salem Massachusetts to pursue a career in education. During this time, Gary enjoyed drag racing his 1964 Mercury at Lebanon Valley Speedway in NY.

Gary met the love of his life, JoAnn Keizer from Port Ewen NY,. They were married at the Presentation of the BVM Church in Port Ewen in November 1969. In 1970, they gave birth to their son, Thomas. Working multiple jobs while raising a family, Gary also found the time to further his education, earning his Master's of Education from Castleton State College.

Gary taught marketing and was the DECA program advisor at Springfield High School for 25 years. He achieved several awards through his teachings, and touched the lives of many students. A lot of those students were quite fond of his custom 1972 Ford Bronco. Gary went on to teach computer technology at the Sugar Valley Technical Center, and Claremont Middle School in Claremont NH. Here he developed "What's in the Box", the first of its kind class where students learned the internal components and workings of a personal computer. Gary retired from education in 2012.

In addition to teaching school, Gary also taught karate for over 20 years at the Community House in Springfield, Vt. He got his son involved at an early age, where they would eventually teach side by side. After more than 30 years of dedication to the martial arts, Gary was recently awarded the rank of 7th degree black belt in the Dillman Karate International organization.

Gary enjoyed spending time with his family. Traveling all over New England coaching & managing his son's BMX racing activity and together attending numerous karate tournaments and training seminars. Along with his wife JoAnn, Gary enjoyed training dalmatians, they had 12 throughout the years. While all of the dogs were special to them, Mr. Bentley had an extra special relationship to Gary. They competed in dog obedience and rally events, while working to train their dogs to be certified therapy dogs. When not working with his beloved dalmatians, Gary could be found watching baseball, cheering on the Atlanta Braves and the Keene Swamp Bats.

He is survived by his wife, JoAnn (Keizer) McKenney; his son, Thomas McKenney and his wife Kelly of Keene, NH and his grandson, Devon McKenney of Keene; a niece Kimberly Keizer of Lake Katrine, NY; a nephew Shawn Keizer of Lake Katrine, NY; and a cousin Dennis Emanual of Howard Beach NY.

Family and friends may gather at the Davis Memorial Chapel in Springfield, VT, for visitation on Friday, August 22 from 2PM-3PM. A service at the chapel will follow at 3PM.