Grandma Kenney

Grandma Kenney/ McClain Slideshow from Sean Kenney on Vimeo.

On October 27, 2011 my Grandmother passed away.
Freida Eloise Schomer was born May 19, 1917 in Fresno California to Christian and Bertha Schomer. By the age of 9, both of Freida’s parents had passed away, at which time she, along with her brothers and sisters, went to live with their grandmother, Fidelia Garis.

Freida graduated from the Fresno High School and then Fresno State College. It was here where she met Alfred Kenney. At the age of 24, Freida announced her betrothal to Alfred Kenney (28) informally to friends in the local paper. The couple was married Sunday morning on June 1, 1941. The ceremony was solemnized in the Westminster Presbyterian Church by Reverend E.M. Keeler. At the time Freida was working as a member of the faculty of the Alvine School in Caruthers, while Alfred was the owner of an automobile service shop.

At the age of 26 she gave birth to her first child, Charles, then later to her daughter, Joan. Freida and Alfred along with their two children, moved to Princeton, New Jersey where she held a teaching position and Alfred attended Westminster Choir College. There they stayed for four years until Alfred graduated, at which time they moved back to Fresno, California. Freida soon took up another teaching position, now at Jane Addams School.

In June of 1961, the family moved again, this time to Carmichael California. Freida started another teaching position with the San Juan Unified School District. By 1966 Charles married and moved out the house as well Joan. She was now in her ‘empty-nest’ stage of life. She was 49.

By the time she turned 51 in 1968, Freida’s first grandson was born. She retired from teaching in 1975 after 36 years. Five years later on December 7, 1980, at the age of 67, Alfred passed away. She would spend the next 14 years alone in the house until she met David Henry McClain in the year of 1994. Freida Kenney fell in love for the second time in her life and married David. They spent every moment they had together even when David’s health started to fail. On March 22, 1999 Freida had a stroke, possibly as a result of the stress of caring for Dave as he was in the hospital. After catching pneumonia, David would pass away that same year.

As a result of her stroke, Grandma Freida needed 24 hour care. For the first two years, her son and daughter-in-law moved into her home to provide that care. By August of 2001 she then moved to Eureka to be cared for by her Daughter for the next 10 years, until she finally passed away in their home. She lived to see 9 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren born. She was 94.