McKenna, Thomas Patrick
McKenna, Thomas Patrick age 18 of Byram Township passed away suddenly June 3, 2019 at the Morristown Medical Center following a courageous battle with ANCA-Associated Vasculitis. Born in Burlingame, CA, Tommy, as he was affectionately called by his family, grew up in Danville, California before moving to Byram Township in 2011.
A hard working senior at Lenape Valley Regional High School, Tommy was active with the Newton-Lenape Valley Ice Hockey team and was scheduled for Graduation Saturday June 15, 2019. Known to his friends as “Chip”, he was a caring and loyal friend to many. He enjoyed making videos, hanging out with his friends and gaming.
Tommy/Chip was well-loved for his humor and intelligence. He scored a 1370 on the SAT without test prep, said AP Physics was his favorite class- and even made an AP Physics rap video with his friends. He and his friends also made a series of popular “Chip Challenge” videos, which had a waiting list of people who wanted to participate, and a series of “Sparta Classic Diner food review” videos. He also ran several unofficial businesses at Lenape: “Chip Eats”, “Chip Drives” and “Chip Studies”, where he ran his own version of the gig economy for his friends for nominal amounts. Chip also organized a series of chess tournaments at the school. He was always so happy and funny that his friends said he made coming to school fun. Tommy was also a very affectionate and loving son.
A patriot at heart, Tommy had been training with the United States Marine Corps for the past year. He was sworn in as a Poolee in July 2018, and was scheduled to ship out for Boot Camp in July. The USMC was a great passion for Tommy, and he found a strong sense of purpose and comradery with the recruiters and his fellow classmates who were joining with him.
Tommy was predeceased by his maternal grandfather, Joseph McKenna. He is survived in life by his loving mother Nancy McKenna, his sister Molly McKenna and his maternal grandmother Dorothy McKenna. Also surviving are his aunts and uncles; Kathy McKenna and her husband David McHenry, Margaret and her husband Bill Junker, Joe McKenna, Virginia McKenna, Bob and his wife Noreen McKenna, Beth McKenna and her husband Rick Kvoriak, as well as his cousins John Miller, Joe McGurty, Laura Gleason and Lisa McGurty, Charlie and Leo Kvoriak.
A public Christian Funeral Mass will be held Friday June 14, 2019 at 10:00 AM in the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha Roman Catholic Church 427 Stanhope Road Sparta, NJ 07871. Public visitation will be held Thursday June 13, 2019 from 5 PM to 9 PM in the Iliff-Ruggiero Funeral Home #156 Main St. (Rt. 206) Newton, NJ 07860. In lieu of flowers, memorials in Thomas’s memory may be made to the Semper Fi Fund www.semperfifund.org.
