Morris Township couple ‘retired’ to serve with Morris Minute Men

EMTs Don and Jeanne McKenna receive award from Vince Marchese of the Knights of Columbus. Photo courtesy of Vince Marchese
EMTs Don and Jeanne McKenna receive award from Vince Marchese of the Knights of Columbus. Photo courtesy of Vince Marchese
1
EMTs Don and Jeanne McKenna receive award from Vince Marchese of the Knights of Columbus. Photo courtesy of Vince Marchese
EMTs Don and Jeanne McKenna receive award from Vince Marchese of the Knights of Columbus. Photo courtesy of Vince Marchese

By Peggy Carroll

Planning to retire? You can move to Florida or North Carolina, perhaps, or find a “retirement” community catering to the senior set in great style.

Or you can do what Don and Jeanne McKenna did.

Eight years ago, when they were in their mid-60s, Don, a Seton Hall University journalism teacher, and Jeanne, then a legal secretary and bookkeeper, chose another path.

They joined the Morris Minute Men in Morris Township and became emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

“It was,” Don McKenna admits, “entirely out of our comfort zone.”

Healthcare was not part of their background and it meant making a large commitment – training in a field that was new to them and being on call for large chunks of time. An ambulance service volunteer typically gives 12- to 13 hours a week.

But they began to think of it when a member of the Minute Men came to St. Virgil’s Church in Morris Plains, where the McKennas are longtime parishioners, and made an appeal for volunteers to join the ambulance service.

And the McKennas began serious consideration. “The Minute Men sounded like the best possible way for us to serve our communities,” he said. “It was a way to help our neighbors and make a difference.”

It meant going back to school – becoming an EMT takes 240 hours of instruction, and passing both a class exam and a state certification test. That, Don McKenna said, with irony, was “an interesting experience.”

Challenging, actually. “It’s nowhere as easy as it was in our 20’s,” he confessed.

Today, they still are members of the Minute Men. And for their service, they have been awarded the Thaddeus Kosakowski Memorial EMS Award, an honor presented annually by the Bishop McLaughlin Council 3495 of the Knights of Columbus to an emergency service volunteer for outstanding service.

The McKennas are the first couple to receive the award; it has previously been given only to individuals.

“Both the Minute Men and the Knights of Columbus had to make exceptions for us,” Don said. “It was very touching.”

But it was in keeping with the McKennas’ history. They have been working as a couple for half a century.

They first met at a Seton Hall theater party. Don was a house manager and Jeanne’s brother worked with the theater. It was a blind date, Don says.

They have been married for 48 years, and are the parents of two grown children and grandparents to seven – including two foster and two adopted children.

Don, now 72, got his bachelor’s degree at Seton Hall and went on to earn a master’s and a doctorate in communications at Temple University. He spent many  years as a journalist does, on small newspapers and large, from writing stories to taking photos.

The newspaper bug big him early. He left college (and later went back) to work on the Clifton Leader. Later, he was a layout editor at the Record in Hackensack, and a photo editor and photographer for dailies and weeklies. He also worked in civic agency public relations and as a freelance designer, art editor, printing broker and communication consultant.

In 1970, he began teaching at Seton Hall and his ties to it are ultra strong. “I bleed Pirate Blue,” he claimed.

The university returns the compliment. He was just honored as the outstanding Professor Emeritus by its College of Communication and the Arts. And he still teaches two courses online each semester.

Jeanne, whom Don says is a “very young 71,” worked for a small law firm in Morristown and at the time they joined the Minute Men, she was still putting in two days a week.

Over the years, they have been very active at their parish; previously, they won the Knights of Columbus award as a family. More recently, they were presented with the Vivere Christus Est Award by the Diocese of Paterson for outstanding service.

‘YOU WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE’

Their work for the Minute Men has changed with time. Today, they rarely take active ambulance calls. But they still are very much involved. They cover stand-bys, like football games, and do community health education, grant applications, public relations and outreach. And they usually do the Scouting badges, reaching the younger generation.

“There is simply no better way to make a difference than to become a state-certified EMT and answer 9-1-1 calls,” Don said. “Your services are essential and your impact is immediate. You learn valuable skills, and you will make a difference.”

At the recent Knights of Columbus Family Night, where the award was given, Dave Schulz, president of the Minute Men, praised the couple for their continued work with the emergency service.

“After years of active duty,” he said, “Don and Jeanne could have sat back and retired or resigned,” he said. “Instead, they have chosen to remain vital and active.”

So have others who have taken the same road. Vince Marchese, Grand Knight of the Council, who presented the award, joined the Minute Men eight years ago with the McKennas.

Among the more 80 members are three retired men and women.

The award, in fact, is named for a role model. Thaddeus Kosakowski was a longtime member of both the Minute Men and the Knights of Columbus. He joined the Minute Men after retiring from AT&T.

1 COMMENT

  1. Good for them! These are the kind of giving people who make Morris Township a special place to live.

LEAVE A REPLY