Michael J. Kearney

Michael J. Kearney, 84, died Thursday, May 30, 2024, at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport. Visitation will be Monday, June 10, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the Clinton Chapel Snell-Zornig Funeral Home. Burial will follow at St. Irenaeus Cemetery where his parents and two brothers are buried. Military honors will be conducted by Clinton AMVETS Post #28. Mike was born in Clinton, IA to Vincent J. and Evelyn L. Lynch Kearney. He was a 1958 graduate of Clinton High School where he was a member of the 1956-58 state swimming championship teams. He received a national merit scholarship and attended Washington University in St. Louis. Mike was an active member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He was elected to Lock & Chain, Thurteen, and Omicron Delta Kappa (sophomore, junior, & senior men’s honorary fraternities). In 1962, he received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering. He then attended the Wharton graduate college at the University of Pennsylvania and in 1964 received an MBA. During graduate school, Mike taught math and English in the Philadelphia Public School system. He served in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1968 with active duty in Frankfurt, Germany from 1964 to 1966 where he reached the rank of First Lieutenant. After his discharge he worked 9 months in the design group for Alfred E. Teves K.G. in Frankfurt. While in Germany he studied German and Spanish and became fluent in both languages. Upon return to the USA, he started his 35-year international business career with Hussmann Refrigeration Co. in St. Louis. He managed several operations for them in Mexico, Guatemala, and Argentina. He then began his international banking career in Mexico with First National Bank of Chicago before returning to Chicago as Vice President. Later he was VP for Philadelphia National Bank in Chicago and Valuation Research in Oak Brook, IL and Milwaukee, WI. He then moved to New York as VP for Deutsche Bank in New York City before returning to Chicago as VP for Bank Hapoalim, and as President for Pan American Bank. He was married in 1973 and divorced in 1994. He had three children. Mike co-authored Midwest Families, 1979, a genealogical compilation of ancestors dating back to the 1600s. Mike is descended from pioneer families in this area. His great, great grandparents James Kearney & Bridget Walsh were early members of St. Anthony’s Parish in Davenport in 1844. His great, great grandparents Michael Lynch & Bridget Fleming settled in Clinton County in 1840 and were founding members of St. Irenaeus Parish. His great grandfather’s older brother Michael Lynch, Jr. enlisted in Company A 21st Regiment Iowa Infantry in 1862, fought in several civil war battles including the siege of Vicksburg in 1863, and died from complications from battle later that year. Mike was active in many civic organizations including the Clinton Sesquicentennial Committee (chairman 2003-05), the Clinton County Historical Society (board of directors since 2004 and president twice), the Historic Preservation Commission (chairman 2004-05), the Clinton YMCA (board of directors 2006-17), the Clinton County waste commission board (2006-10), the Curtis Mansion Foundation board (2007-18), and the American/Schleswig-Holstein Heritage Society (president 2020-22). Mike was recognized with a Spirit Award in 2004 and named the Jack Dermody Memorial Downtown Partnership Volunteer of the Year 2006-07. He served as a Clinton City Councilman (2005-12) and was on the editorial board of the Clinton Herald (2012-22). Mike was an athlete in high school and college and completed three Chicago marathons and the Big Shoulders 2.5-mile swim in Lake Michigan. He was preceded in death by his parents (2003), two brothers: twin Richard (1940) and J. Edward (1965), and his nephew David Kearney (2023). He is survived by his brother Raymond “Bud” (Carol) of Los Angeles; step-niece Rachael (Jack) Androski of Lakewood, Washington; twin nieces Michelle (Christopher) Staffield of San Pedro, California and Jennifer (Diarmuid) Ryan of West Linn, Oregon; three step-grandnephews: Jackson, Eddie, and Charley Androski; and four grand nephews and nieces: Liam and Mae Ryan, and Casey and Emma Staffield. The family suggests in lieu of flowers that donations be made to the Clinton County Historical Society and Museum, 601 So 1st St, Clinton, IA 52732.

Michael J. Kearney

January 2, 1940 - May 30, 2024