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Post a reply || Back to Message Board Corelia Kissam McHenry Early - Class of 1939
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Cornelia (Neal) Kissam McHenry Early was born on the Kissam family
farm on Pierces Road in Newburgh, NY, on May 30, 1921. Just before her 96th
birthday, she passed quietly away on May 1, 2017 at her daughter’s home in
California with two of her daughters lovingly at her side. Daughter of Richard
Varick Kissam, Sr. and Wilhelmina Witlow, Neal graduated from Newburgh Free
Academy in 1938. She married William Stewart McHenry, Jr., but was widowed at 22
just before the November 1943 birth of their first daughter. Her husband was
killed in action in WWII when his B-24 bomber was shot down over Burma in
October 1943. Several years later she fell in love with and married John (Jack)
E. Early, Sr., who was a highly decorated P-47 and P-51 fighter pilot during
WWII. Together, they had three more children and celebrated more than 50 years
of marriage. Neal worked alongside Jack in the late 1940s through the 1950s and
1960s in his Stork Diaper Service business. As an entrepreneur, she then opened
her own shop, Maternity Fashions, on Liberty Street in Newburgh, operating that
business for more than 15 years. She was a lifetime member of Beta Sigma Phi
International Sorority; founded in 1931 for the social, cultural, and civic
enrichment of its members. Members have donated approximately $1 million to
medical research and treatment through The Endowment Fund. An avid bowler, Neal
continued to bowl on a bowling league into her 80s. She was inducted into the
Women Bowlers Hall of Fame. She was also an avid reader, very patriotic, and
loved music. Her family loved it when she would sing and yodel. She is survived
by her children: Jean Minuta and her husband, Vincent, of Washingtonville, NY,
John Early, Jr. of Newburgh, NY, Ruth Albertson and her husband, Robert, of
Santa Cruz, CA, and Nancy Early and her husband, Michael Huff of Prunesdale, CA.
Cornelia has eight grandchildren: Joseph J. Minuta, Lisa Gorke, Dana Minuta,
Jennifer Early, Erin Copelan, Tricia Albertson, Alisha Morganstern and Robert
Huff, plus five great grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, John
Early, Sr. and her siblings: Marie Keesler, Richard V. Kissam, Jr. and
Wilhelmina Burr. Visitation will be on Monday, May 8, 2017, from 2-4 PM and 6-8
PM at Brooks Funeral Home, 481 Gidney Avenue, Newburgh, NY. On Tuesday, May 9, a
funeral service will be held at 11 AM at the funeral home, with burial following
in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Newburgh. 
NFA Class Memorial Page
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Post a reply || Back to Message Board Corelia Kissam McHenry Early - Class of 1939
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