John Joseph McNally, Jr. passed away from natural causes early in the morning on November 28,2022 at Alexandria Hospital. He was 95 years old and had been a resident of Alexandria, Virginia for 43 years.
He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on August 13,1927 to Dr. John Joseph McNally, Sr. and Bertha Potter McNally. The young family soon moved to Jackson Heights-Queens, New York, where they welcomed three more brothers into the family, and he attended the local grammar school. The family moved to Allendale, New Jersey in 1938, and John graduated from Ramsey High School in 1945, after which, he was immediately called to active duty in the Navy.
He enrolled at the U.S. Naval Academy in July of 1946 with a Fleet Appointment, that his Uncle Colonel Norwood Potter facilitated, and he was commissioned as an Ensign upon graduation with the class of 1950. While at the academy, he participated in the pistol team, football and captained the lacrosse team in his senior year. Yes – we still have his lacrosse stick!
After an initial tour on the USS Mindoro, CVE-120, he was assigned to flight training and was awarded his Naval Aviation wings in 1951. He then reported to duty in Norfolk, Virginia and flew anti—submarine warfare missions in a modified WWII TBM aircraft in Cold War deployments in Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. He was then assigned to duty stations in Virginia Beach, Virginia, NAS Atlanta, the USS Tarawa CVS 12 followed by VS24 – another carrier based ASW squadron. After attending the Naval War College in 1962-3, in Newport Rhode Island, earning a Masters’ Degree in International Relations, the family relocated to North Springfield, Virginia for a 2- year stint at BUPERSs. In 1965 the family moved west to Coronado, California. There, he commanded two carrier based ASW squadrons. Following this, he served as Operations Officer for ASW Group 3 on the USS Hornet; deployed to the Pacific where they were primarily involved in recovering Apollo 11 and 12 astronauts from the South Pacific Ocean. While on shore duty, he was hired by a Hollywood movie studio, along with other Navy pilots, to fly faux Japanese planes for the movie Tora Tora Tora. It was thrilling for us to watch the fleet fly over our home at 211 Ocean Drive in Coronado and land at NAS North Island.
After a two-year tour in Washington DC from 1970-1972, the family moved back to Coronado where he commanded the USS Paul Revere, based in San Diego. He loved taking his Captain’s gig from the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado (where the family resided at 107 Rendova Circle) across the bay to work. He also enjoyed his sailboat during these years which was affectionately named the Peter Rabbit after his Captain’s gig.
His next tour of duty was on the east coast again, where he moved the family to Quarters G on the Little Creek Amphibious base in Virginia Beach, Virginia. His assignment was to command the Atlantic Fleet Amphibious helicopter carrier – USS Inchon, the major vessel in performing critical mine sweeping operations to reopen the Suez Canal beginning in 1974.
In 1977 the family moved to Naples, Italy where he served as Chief of Staff for the Admiral on the local Naval Base. He insisted on renting a home at Parco Costa Sabilla, which was a beautiful neighborhood with no Americans. He loved living amongst the Italian people where we could all become familiar with their culture, lifestyle and cuisine. We have wonderful memories of those years, including buying a .25 cent loaf of homemade bread every day from the baker down the road.
In 1979 the family moved back to Alexandria, Virginia where he retired at the rank of Captain, after 34 years of service. After this, he consulted with various defense firms in the Arlington, Virginia area and with H&R Block on tax matters. Always striving to better himself, he earned his MBA from Loyola University in Baltimore, Maryland.
In recent years, his dedication to the Naval Academy knew no bounds. He spearheaded the efforts for the successful selection of 4 Distinguished Graduates from the class of 1950.
John is survived by his wife of 20 years, Gail Dawson McNally and her five children as well as his six children; John Joseph McNally III of San Francisco, Shauna McNally Fontana (Paul, deceased) of Redondo Beach, California, James O’Melia McNally of Huntington Beach, California, Sarah McNally Miller (Tim) of Poway, California, Alyssa Ann Feroldi (John) of Oakton, Virginia and Julia McNally Wiles (Kirk) of Arlington, Virginia and six grandchildren; Bryson McNally of Santa Rosa, California, Russell Miller (Nao) of Tokyo, Japan, Ryan Miller of Los Angeles, California, Arthur Fontana of Redondo Beach, California, Cole Fontana of Redondo Beach, California and Allison Miller of Poway, California. One great-grandchild, Reo Miller of Tokyo, Japan, and his brother Robert McNally (Nancy) of North Carolina, as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins all over the country.
John’s first wife, Frances McLeod McNally pre-deceased him in 1999 after 45 years of marriage. They met on a tennis date while she was vacationing in Norfolk, Virginia where he was stationed as a young officer. They were married on May 15,1954 in Northville, Michigan. He was also predeceased by his two younger brothers, Steve McNally in 1958 while landing a jet on an aircraft carrier during a training mission off the coast of Virginia, and Richard McNally in 2015 of Irving Texas, his parents, Dr. John Joseph McNally, Sr. in 1968 and Bertha Potter McNally Hagedorn in 2002 as well as his son-in-law Paul Fontana in 2022.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the John and Frances McNally Type 1 Diabetes Fund at https://makingagift.umn.edu/give/fund.html?id=20752
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