DOROTHY BARBARA McNERNEY's Obituary
Dorothy McNerney, Inventor of the Wreath Hanger
Dorothy Barbara McNerney, of Potomac Falls, Virginia, passed away on July 8, 2025 at 97 years of age of natural causes.
A Celebration of Life will be held on July 19th at 3 pm at Loudoun Funeral Chapel, 158 Catoctin Circle, S.E., Leesburg, VA 20175.
Dorothy was born in 1927 in Pittsburgh, PA and married James McNerney in 1954, moving to Virginia in 1968 where they raised their three children; Kevin, Susan, and Neil. Dorothy is predeceased by her husband James and her daughter Susan. Dorothy is survived by her sons, Kevin McNerney of Huntington Beach CA, and Neil McNerney of Leesburg VA. Her grandchildren include Colt Freeman, Katherine Jennings, Erin Jennings, Max McNerney, Shannon McNerney, Michael McNerney and Patrick McNerney. Her great grandchildren include Noah Freeman, Eli Freeman, Fenna Murphy and Henrick Murphy.
Dorothy grew up in Sheradan, PA, a suburb of Pittsburgh. She graduated from professional school in 1947 and immediately began her career as a pioneering businesswoman. She quickly became credit manager at The Carlton House, a luxury hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.
Dorothy is also well known as the inventor of the Wreath Hanger. When moving into a new home in the late 1970s, the new metal door created a problem for hanging her holiday wreaths. She developed a sheet metal hanger thin enough to be able to close the door but strong enough to hang a wreath. This simple solution for her door developed into a large home-based business, filling a need for new houses with metal doors. Dorothy designed, manufactured, and sold over one hundred thousand wreath hangers before retiring.
Even in her nineties, Dorothy was a keen bridge, poker and Mahjong player, teaching her grandchildren the finer points of blackjack betting. She loved to gamble, but probably enjoyed the social aspect of the games more than winning. She was an amazing baker and kept her family well fed, especially with sticky buns, her version of cinnamon rolls. Her family was everything to her and she was loved by all.
What’s your fondest memory of DOROTHY?
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Share a story where DOROTHY's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with DOROTHY you’ll never forget.
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