Sandra Mcginty

If you were out on the town and ran into Sandy McGinty, chances are you'd find her with a cigarette in one hand a drink the other. She might be at the bar or behind it, but she'd always be ready for a conversation and to make a new friend. Born Sandra Kinney in Akron, Ohio in 1940 to Cread and Margaret (Jennings) Kinney, she was married before her 18th birthday to her high school sweetheart, John "Butch" McGinty. Two years later, with baby boy in tow she was crossing the Atlantic on the Queen Mary to join her husband on his Air Force posting. Two daughters followed as they lived the peripatetic life of a military family. In the mid-70s, John left the Air Force. Frustrated and directionless, he began to drink. The marriage foundered a few years later. For Sandy, there were more men and another marriage, but no one could take the place in her heart of her beloved "Butch". The tentative possiblity of a reconciliation was dashed by John's early death from cancer in 1990. More tragedies followed, her son Michael was lost in the World Trade Center on that cruel morning of September 11th. Her daughter Susan died of cancer in 2012. She loved children and dogs. In her retirement she provided daycare for the child of a friend, the boy to her becoming a defacto grandson. Sandra eventually moved from Houston to Los Alamos in 2010 to be closer to family including her grandsons. Her final years were marked by a long, slow decline. The exacting toll from a lifetime of smoking. Her constant companions were her faithful dog, Nina, and her television, a marvel from her youth which brought the whole world into her living room. And although subject to a seemingly endless procession of hospitals, tests and procedures, she maintained an equanimity and a kindness to her carers that made her a favorite. When the end came she was ready. On April 1, 2019, her overtaxed heart beat its last. She is survived by a daughter, Erin James of Los Alamos, and four grandson, Daniel (Jersey City, NJ), David (Los Angeles, CA), August and Theodore (Los Alamos, NM). When you find yourself in Heaven, there will no doubt be a bar. If only to provide a place for a beautiful woman with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other. Pull up a chair and tell her your story. You'll make a friend No service is planned. Please consider donation to the Los Alamos Senior Center or the Humane Society of your choice in honor of Sandra.