Elizabeth McNally Houlihan

Elizabeth McNally and Joseph Houlihan Family Story 

Elizabeth (Betty) McNally was born in 1920 in the Bronx, New York, the oldest of nine children of Mary and William McNally.  

As a child Betty contracted Rheumatic fever, which would have an impact on her in later years. After high school, Betty held a variety of jobs, including positions at Woolworths department store, Bell Telephone Co., and the Arrow Shirt Company. 

In her early years, Betty received limited musical training but went on to become a talented, self-taught piano player. Over the years, Betty led many group sing-alongs at family parties. 

Betty had a lifelong appreciation of music, from the Big Band sound through the British invasion of the 1960s. She would often wake us up to music from the Beatles album Meet the Beatles or soundtracks from movies like The Music Man or West Side Story. 

Joseph (Joe) Houlihan was born in 1907 in Limerick, Ireland. In 1926, he arrived at Rikers Island in New York with his mother, Hannah, and his brother Henry. 

Like many immigrants, Joe sought work, primarily in Manhattan. Over the years, he held a variety of jobs, including hotel doorman, vaudeville stagehand, and hotel porter. 

In 1933, Joe became a subway conductor with the New York Transit Authority, a position he held for 35 years until his retirement in 1968. 

As fate would have it, Betty met Joe, and they were married in 1943, making their home in the South Bronx. 

After many years of hard work, Betty and Joe were able to purchase a two-family home in the upper Bronx. They were fortunate to have Nana, Pop, uncles Eddie and Tom, and Aunt Eileen live in the top level of the house.  

In 1967, while undergoing open-heart surgery, Betty su ered a stroke. This profoundly changed her life as well as Joe’s and that of their family. 

As Betty’s condition worsened, she, Joe and the four youngest Houlihans moved to Seattle, Washington, in 1969. 

Several years earlier, their oldest child, Betty-Jo, had already relocated to Seattle with her husband, Pat Kane, and their children. In 1971, Chris Houlihan also moved from New York to Seattle, while Joseph (Jody) Houlihan married and relocated to Rhode Island. 

After a series of medical challenges, Betty passed away in 1973, and Joe followed in 1977.

 During their lives together, Betty and Joe created lasting memories for many people. Their legacy lives on in their seven children, 19 grandchildren, and 28 great-grandchildren, all of whom continue their tradition of putting family first.

                      Rear: Jody, Betty-Jo, John, Rosemarie (Babe), Chris Front: Michael, Betty, Joe, Jane The Bronx N.Y., 1967

Elizabeth, (Betty-Jo), born in 1943, passed in 2017, married Pat Kane, and had six children: Patrick, Lisa (RIP), Jeanne, Christopher (Kip), Jodie, Rosemarie, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. 

Chris, born 1944, passed in 2014, married Lizbeth (Liz), and had one child, Christopher (RIP). 

Joseph, (Jody), born in 1945, passed in 2000, married Linda, and had three children: Kelly, Kathleen, Joseph (Joe), and eight grandchildren. 

John, born in 1950, married Colleen, has four children: Molly, Travis, Meggan, Hannah, and eight grandchildren. 

Rosemarie, (Babe), born 1951, passed in 2026, married Robert Kulp, had three children: Jamie, Robert (Robby), Jennifer, and two grandchildren. 

Jane, born in 1955, passed in 2004, married Mark Petersen, had one child, Anthony, and one grandchild. 

Michael, born in 1959, has one child, Alison, and two grandchildren.