Kenneth H. "Ken" Garrity of Manchester, CT died Friday (May 29, 2009) at Rockville General Hospital. Ken was born in Clinton, MA the son of the late Harry and Ruth (Dockham) Garrity, on April 17, 1920 and lived there until his entrance into the Army in January 1941. He served with the 101st Airborne Division and parachuted into Normandy on "D" Day, into Holland in September 1944, and participated in the defense of Bastogne, Belgium, all as Staff Sergeant in the 502nd Parachute Regiment. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Combat Infantry Badge. Some years after the war, Ken became a World Traveler and had visited six Continents and fifty States. Ken was also a lover of all sports. He attended games in all thirty Major League baseball parks, a World Series, a national Open Golf Tournament, all three of the "Triple Crown" horse races, the Baseball, Basketball and Hockey "Halls of Fame", and the "Final Four" won by the University of Connecticut in March, 2002 in San Antonio. He scored a Hole in One while playing in the Manchester Seniors Golf League. Ken served for many years on the Board of Directors of Bennet Housing Development in Manchester. He retired in 1985 as Treasurer of Hartford Dispatch, an Agent of Allied Van Lines. He is survived by his three daughters: Maureen Garrity of Nashua,NH, Marilyn Mark of Concord, NH and Melanie Hernandez of Escalon, CA, his two grandchildren; Erin Kennelly of Salt Lake City, UT and Jessica Larrew of Escalon, CA, and his sister Shirley Slack of Boylston, MA. He was predeceased by his grandson, Ryan Kennelly. Funeral service will be held on Wednesday (June 3rd) at 9:15 am from the John F. Tierney Funeral Home 219 West Center St. Manchester with a Mass of Christian Burial 10 am at St. James Church 896 Main St. Manchester. Burial with military honors will be held at Pine Grove Cemetery on Wednesday at 1:30 pm. Family and friends may call at the funeral home on Tuesday evening from 6-8.