Lucia Lazcano McKenna

Lucia Lazcano McKenna, beloved mother and grandmother, passed away at her home on August 17, 2025, at the age of 88, surrounded by her four children. She will always be remembered for her endless generosity, her capacity to love, her unshakeable religious conviction, her abundant curiosity and keen intellect, and the entirely unique and hilarious way she told a story, whether it was crossing the Atlantic on a 1962 ocean liner or taking a trip to H-Mart.

Her life was an epic that began in the Basque region of Spain on December 12, 1936.  Though she left Spain more than 60 years ago, it was a place that always stayed close to her heart.  She visited many times, and her astonishing memory enabled her to carry her formative experiences in Spain with her always: how she picked blackberries while hiking with her father in the Pyrenees; how her family was forced to close their restaurant and flee the fascists who persecuted the Basque people during the Spanish Civil War; how she and her friends would spend Saturday at the movies laughing at the Marx Brothers; how at school a nun once swatted her fingers so hard, she fled to the bathroom and escaped through a transom window and ran home.

At the age of 20, the beautiful and cosmopolitan Lucia, who also had a spirit for adventure, left Spain.   She moved first to Paris, then London, then came to the U.S. in 1962 while working for the family of a British diplomat.  In Manhattan, she met the love of her life, Richard McKenna, whom she married in 1969.  Over the years, the McKenna family moved to Queens, White Plains, Connecticut, Texas, and Maryland, with Lucia the bedrock of each home.

Lucia had fluency in five languages and an encyclopedic memory of classic Hollywood films.  She was a devout Catholic and read extensively about St. Ignatius of Loyola.  She was strong and resourceful and always strived to learn new things.  In her 40’s, she taught herself how to drive.  In her 60’s and 70’s, she undertook ambitious home renovations that included replacement of a water-damaged section of subflooring.  She was also very fierce and didn’t hesitate to speak her mind, as one police officer who attempted to give her a ticket many years ago found out;  she informed  him that his breath smelled like booze, and he backed away and left her alone.

Above all, she was most celebrated by friends and family for her extraordinary cooking, serving for decades the best crème brûlée, tortilla de patatas (potato omelet), lasagna, and dozens of other best dishes they’ve ever eaten.  She made masterpieces from simple meat and potatoes, and even her salad dressing was inimitable.  The family centered each gathering around her meals, and every visit ended with her piling armloads of delicious food to take home.  She devoted herself entirely to the comfort and care of her husband, children, and grandchildren.  In the last two decades, she especially took great delight in her seven grandchildren, and they all loved her deeply and will miss her dearly, and so will their parents.

She is survived by her four children - Susan (and husband Peter), Richard, Edward (and wife Sarah), Matthew (and wife Kimberly), and her grandchildren - Harrison, Luke, Colin, Ames, Owen, Mirabel and Sasha.

Your prayers and support mean the world to our family during this difficult time. Thank you for keeping her in your thoughts, and for helping us celebrate the beautiful life she lived.

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