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MICHAEL. Professor Michael Clark Kearney, of Albuquerque and Moreno Valley, CA, passed away Thursday, November 12, 2009 at his home in Moreno Valley. He was with his loving family and friends to the end. Dr. Kearney was born on December 22, 1937. He was the son of Dr. Francis Kearney, a physician and Ellen Clark Kearney, a nurse. He grew up in Hayward, California, among a lively family of sister, cousins, aunts and uncles. After graduating from Hayward High School in 1955, he attended the University of California, Berkeley where he received his BA degree in 1963. He went on to attend graduate school at UC Berkeley, receiving a Ph.D in Anthropology in 1968. In September of 1968, Dr. Kearney became a faculty member of the Anthropology Department at University of California, Riverside. He taught, did internationally respected research, and continued writing after his retirement in 2008. In his 40 years at UC Riverside, Dr. Kearney mentored and influenced countless students and their careers. His area of study was Mexico, working with indigenous peoples, Zapotec and Mixtec. He was also a world renowned expert in border studies and immigration and a pioneering theorist on transnational communities, about which he wrote many books and articles. Dr. Kearney is survived by his wife of 33 years, Professor Carole Nagengast of The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque; his daughter and son-in-law Mary Anne Connelly-Weiss and James Weiss; son John Connelly; and grandsons Seth, Christopher, John, and Daniel Connelly. He was predeceased by his daughter Claire Nicole Connelly, a Riverside, CA, police officer who died in the line of duty in 1998. He is also survived by his loving sister Sheila Kearney McClellan and her partner Ethel- May Shaw; niece and nephew Katie Greathouse, and Ian McClellan. Dr. Kearney leaves legions of cousins and other relatives, dear colleagues and life-long friends as well. Graveside services for family and close friends are to be held on Wednesday November 18, 2009 at Crestlawn Memorial Park, Riverside, CA. Friends and colleagues are invited to visit with the Kearney-Nagengast-Connelly family to tell "Michael stories" at their home in Moreno Valley, CA. For more detailed information, please call 951-544-2650 or 951-242-2791. The Kearney-Nagengast-Connelly family requests that memorial donations be made to the Claire Nicole Carolyn Connelly Scholarship Foundation, Mary Anne Connelly, 68-175 Alcita Rd., Cathedral City, CA. 92234 or to Amnesty International, 5 Penn Plaza, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10001.
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