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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, August 2008, pages 70-71 In Memoriam A Great Woman Passes Away in Ohio: Joanne Elizabeth Fedor McKenna, 74By Hassan Al-HusseiniA great American woman who waged a lifetime campaign for peace, understanding and justice in the Middle East, Joanne Elizabeth Fedor McKenna, 74, passed away in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio on April 24, 2008. A memorial ceremonial was held June 2, marking the 40th day after her death, as is customary in her Maronite Church. For over 40 years, Joanne inspired thousands of people not only in her native city and state, but in the entire United States, and in many countries of the Middle East, to pursue a just peace and multi-religious understanding among Christians, Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land. Her last public service was as a public relations volunteer for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), which she did working from her computer at home in support of former Cleveland Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar, president of ADC. She was also active during the past two years with efforts by Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio to develop a peace plan for the Middle East. Representative Kucinich is running for re-election this year, and also campaigned for the Democratic nomination for U.S. president. One of his prominent initiatives was to set up a Federal Department for Peace. If ever a medal of honor or peace prize was deserved, it is for the likes of Joanne and her many friends in Northern Ohio who never tired, with humility and often humor, to ease human suffering and bring understanding. Among them I remember prominent Republican Minor George and activist David Harami during my days as a graduate student at Ohio State University and editor with the Columbus Dispatch, (1970-75). Joanne worked within her Maronite Church, but she also worked in religious coalitions that brought together all the major Christian, Muslim and Jewish denominations and nationalities in the tense Holy Land. Writing about Joanne in the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper, where she published many letters and articles, reporter Laura Johnston wrote on April 28, 2008, from the Cleveland suburb of Rocky River, Ohio: “Joanne McKenna, former president of the National Association of Arab Americans who pushed for Middle East peace for decades, died of cancer at her home Thursday, April 24, 2008. She was 74. “Born and raised in Cleveland, where her family owned the Hanna Groceries store downtown, McKenna was Slovak and Lebanese. She studied English literature at Flora Stone Mather College, now part of Case Western Reserve University. She met her husband, Carl, a medical intern, while she worked as a secretary at City Hospital, now MetroHealth Medical Center. “‘I was very much impressed,’ said her husband. ‘She’s a very beautiful, intelligent lady with a tremendous personality.’ “The couple married in December 1958, a half year after they met. McKenna had a son, Carl III or Bud to his family and friends, and served as a volunteer teacher at Head Start. “But although McKenna had always been interested in her Lebanese heritage—and in the politics, history and culture of the Middle East—she did not publicly assert her Arab-American identity until the late 1960s. “It was after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War and the Arab oil embargo, when the word Arab began to take on a negative connotation in the United States. Then, her son said, McKenna began giving presentations at libraries, schools and churches. “Soon, she emerged as a national leader of the fledgling Arab-American movement. “She helped found the Greater Cleveland Association of Arab Americans, where she served 12 years on the board of trustees and six terms as president. She helped found the National Association of Arab Americans, the Ohio chapter of the Association of Arab American University Graduates and the Northeast Ohio Committee on Middle East Understanding. “She wrote a book called Great Women of the Middle East; traveled throughout the region; met with Yasser Arafat and other heads of state; and was invited to the White House to meet with Presidents Ford and Carter. Her son said: ‘She just wanted peace for everyone.’ “As she grew older, McKenna mastered the computer so she could read newspapers from around the world. She wrote letters to the editor of The Plain Dealer, explaining her stances on Middle East issues and backing them with statistics. “After Sept. 11, she wrote: ‘Arab-Americans—Christian and Muslim alike—are an integral part of the American people. We are Americans, and we are here to stay.’ “McKenna wasn’t always serious, though, her son said. She was funny, loved to garden and to drive through the Cleveland Metroparks, her eyes always searching for deer. “‘I don’t think I’ve ever known a harder worker,’ he said. ‘She could not walk through a room without accomplishing something….She was constantly in motion.’” Joanne is survived by her husband, Carl, son Carl III (Bud), sister Georgene Cooper and brother George Fedor. She was buried in a quiet ceremony in Cleveland. In addition to her work with the various Arab American associations in Cleveland, Ohio and the nation, she actively supported the Cleveland Federation of American Lebanese-Syrian Charities, the St. Jude’s Hospital for Children, and other humanitarian causes. She appeared on radio and television, lecturing and writing on the values, religions, cultures and problems of the Middle East as they relate to Americans. She visited Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Israeli-occupied territories, Iraq, Tunisia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, where she was usually received as an honored guest. In Washington, she met on numerous occasions with U.S. State Department officials, including secretaries of state, the director of the FBI, congressional committees and many legislators. She was the recipient of many awards, including the following:
The prayers of many friends go to Joanne’s memory. Hassan Al-Husseini writes from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. |