Joseph C. McKendry

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Joseph C. McKendry, 77, of Sunnyside, a retired electrician and MTA deputy syperintendent who enjoyed traveling and cherished his Irish heritage, died Tuesday in Addeo House Hospice, Egbertville.

Born in Manhattan, he grew up in Astoria, Queens. He spent summers with his family in Midland Beach bungalows and moved there permanently in 1963. He moved to Sunnyside in 2007.

He graduated from Chelsea Vocational High School, Manhattan.

Mr. McKendry served in the National Guard Reserves for six years.

He worked as an electrician at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he was a member of Local 3, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. He later worked for 30 years for the MTA, repairing subway trains. He retired in 1995 as a deputy superintendent at the Coney Island overhaul shop in Brooklyn.

He was a member of the Knights of Columbus.

Mr. McKendry loved the ocean and enjoyed swimming, walking on the boardwalk and fishing. He also enjoyed reading and dining out.

He also loved to travel with his wife, Mary Ann, journeying to Europe and going on cruises. Proud of his Irish heritage, his vacation to Belfast, home of his ancestors, was a highlight of his life.

Mr. McKendry was a parishioner of St. Teresa's R.C. Church, Castleton Corners.

Surviving, along with his wife of seven years, are his son, Brian; his daughters, Denise Caliendo and Darlene McKendry; his stepdaughters, Margaret Meyers, Tara Lao and Mary Ellen Litrell, and four grandchildren.

The funeral will be Friday from the Virginia Funeral Chapels, Dongan Hills, with a mass at 9:30 a.m. in St. Teresa's Church. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.