Owen David McNally

July 28, 2018

Owen McNally, a gentle man who saw the best in everybody, died on Saturday, July 28, 2018, at Hartford Hospital at age 81. Owen was the husband of Sheila (Brett) McNally. Owen was a gifted observer of people and things, and could make language swing with enough joy and spontaneity to rival any jazz improvisation. He had an appreciation for the absurd, and could wring humor out of nearly any situation. But even more important to those who knew him, Owen was kind. He was an excellent listener and had a way of putting people around him at ease. During his 40-year career as a writer and editor with the Hartford Courant, he was a general assignment reporter, covered the federal courts and the U.S. Attorney’s office in Connecticut, was the night city editor, book editor, TV critic, editor of the Sunday Magazine, a features writer, visual arts reporter, and jazz writer. For many years, he wrote the Riffs jazz column for the Courant’s CAL section. He also wrote the weekly Jazz Corridor column for WNPR.org. He was an adjunct instructor at Trinity College and the University of Hartford. Owen grew up in West Hartford. He played Little League, and in 1948, his team (“Exchange Club”) won the Connecticut state championship. He was a member of Hall High’s “glorious” class of 1955 and graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1959. With the exception of two years of military service in the U.S. Army, he lived his entire life in Connecticut. Owen was pre-deceased by his parents, John Irving McNally and Marietta (Gydesen) McNally, his brother, Peter McNally, and his sister Marietta (McNally) Shaw. He is survived by his wife Sheila, his children Patrick and Maura, his son-in-law, Nathan, his beloved granddaughter Maeve, his sister, Susan (McNally) Miller, numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, neighbors and colleagues. Calling hours will be Wednesday, August 1st from 4-7 p.m. at the Molloy Funeral Home, 906 Farmington Ave., West Hartford. Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Malta House of Care, 19 Woodland St. #21, Hartford, CT 06105 or the Artists Collective, 1200 Albany Ave, Hartford, CT 06112. Online expressions of sympathy may be made at www.molloyfuneralhome.com