Kenneth J. McFall
Kenneth James McFall of East Hampton, who had been recognized repeatedly for his outstanding work as an educator both here and abroad, died on Jan. 17 at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Quiogue. He had been diagnosed not long ago with malignant carcinoma and had been ill for about three weeks. He was 80, and had still been in mourning for his wife, Kathleen Elizabeth Flannery McFall, who had died unexpectedly on Dec. 21 at age 74.
Mr. McFall was an educator certified in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts, and had international certification for the Dominican Republic and Mexico. He served for a time with the Horace Mann School in the Bronx as an insurance and financial adviser.
He was a member of the Elks and the Lions Club as well as being the regional adviser on curriculum design and implementation for various New England states. He served on school committees and was a member of the New England Coaches Association. He also served as a medic in the Army Reserve in Fort Dix, N.J., for four years.
He was born in Brooklyn on Oct. 13, 1937, one of two children of the former Mary Magdalene Harsen and James Joseph Patrick McFall. He grew up in Massapequa and graduated from St. Brendan’s High School there, going on to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Saint Michael’s College in Burlington, Vt., then earning two master’s degrees, one in advanced math from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in Massachusetts, and the second, in chemistry, from St. Louis University.
Mr. McFall taught math and science in St. Louis, New York City, Montauk, New Hampshire, and Middlebury, Vt. (where he was also the football, track, and wrestling coach). He also taught at the Carol Morgan School in Santo Domingo for three years and in Mexico for one.
In August 1962 he married Gertrude J. McDermott; she died in March 2004. On Feb. 9, 2007, he married Ms. Flannery, who shared his interest in history.
Mr. McFall’s pastimes were focused on education, wellness, family, and community development and improvement, said his daughter, Maureen Mary McFall Cayer of Chicopee, Mass.
He was given awards for his volunteer work by the Lions and Elks, and coaching awards for his work in girls track and boys wrestling. He also was awarded for his collaborative approach in coaching junior varsity football, and was recognized for being an outstanding educator in Vermont, New Hampshire, and the Dominican Republic.
Mr. McFall’s children from his first marriage survive: Ms. Cayer, Sean Michael McFall of East Hartford, Conn., and Kenneth Christopher McFall of Agawam, Mass. His sister, Patricia McFall Sickenger of Florida, survives, as do three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
The family will receive visitors at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on Monday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mr. McFall was cremated and his ashes will be dispersed at locations he specified.