Kathleen Ann O'Keeffe's Obituary
Kathleen Ann O’Keeffe, 84, passed away on March 6, 2024, at the Annapolitan Assisted Living Facility in Annapolis, Maryland.
Kathleen (Kay to family and friends) was born in Newark, New Jersey, on August 5, 1939, the daughter of James Garwood O’Keeffe, Jr., and Eleanor Cecilia O’Keeffe (née Rumrill). She grew up on a dairy farm in the rocky, hilly countryside of north-central Pennsylvania with her eight brothers and sisters, and attended St. Agnes High School in Towanda, PA. She then earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English at St. Mary’s College in Notre Dame, IN. Following college, Kathleen taught English at Holy Cross High in Mountain View, CA, until her marriage to Dennis Boyle in 1963. The births of Anne, Joe, and Monica followed in quick succession. Dennis’s US Air Force service took them to the little town of Celle, Germany, and then Fortuna, North Dakota, both places that left lasting impressions on Kathleen. She remained an avid traveler until her 80s, visiting the Outer Hebrides, Puerto Rico, India, and Turkey, among others.
After a few years at home with her “Irish triplets,” Kathleen returned to teaching English, this time in rural North Carolina, while also earning a Master’s degree in English from North Carolina Central University, with a thesis on D.H. Lawrence’s essay on Moby Dick. Soon after, she began teaching English at C.A. Dillon School, a juvenile detention center, where she remained (except for a brief interlude back to California) until she retired in 1999. There, her lifelong love of literature combined with her faith in humanity inspired how she taught the largely forgotten children serving time at Dillon. She asked a lot of her students, and they responded eagerly to her infectious enthusiasm for Shakespeare as she guided them through reading and then acting out Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.
Kathleen’s passion was her writing. She started as a girl, writing a novel at 14, and never stopped. For about 35 years she participated in a writer’s group in Chapel Hill, NC, where she was an enthusiastic reviewer of her fellow members’ works and a prolific contributor of her own short stories, inspired in part by her childhood on what the family calls “The Farm,” as well as the varied people and places she’d come across throughout her life. According to a fellow member of the group, “Her writing shows her grit. She's mostly quiet and thoughtful and the stubborn tendril doesn't hide.”
Throughout her life and above all else, Kathleen reflected the love of Christ in putting the needs of others before her own. And in her teachings she brought love of truth. She frequently told her three children that creating and raising them was her best achievement, and she enthusiastically celebrated their accomplishments. She also gave them the gifts of deep commitment to human rights, grace towards others, and love for family, friend, and neighbor. They will always be grateful.
Kathleen is survived by her three children, Anne Elizabeth Boyle, Joseph Hugh Boyle (Yadira), and Monica Lucy Rodgers (Chris); seven grandchildren, Romina Sprunger (Stephen), Guenevere David (Hill Pickens), Anthony Boyle (Sefora), Julia Rodgers, Andrew Rodgers, Rosalind David, and Valentina Boyle; five great-grandchildren, Benicio and Luella Sprunger, Anastasia and John Boyle, and Ayyanar Pickens; her sisters, Peggy Coen, Mary Ellen Giffune (Jim), and Eileen O’Keeffe (David Angell); and her brothers, Jim O’Keeffe (Joan) and Pat O’Keeffe (Karen); as well as many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers George O’Keeffe and Mike O’Keeffe, and her sister Betsy Simpson (George).
A funeral service will be held at the Church of the Holy Family, Chapel Hill, NC, at 1:00 in the afternoon on Saturday, May 4, 2024, to be followed by a reception in the church hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Durham Rescue Mission or the Church of the Holy Family’s Meals for Molas Haiti fund.
Durham Rescue Mission: https://durhamrescuemission.org
Church of the Holy Family’s Meals for Molas Haiti fund: https://holyfamilychapelhill.churchcenter.com/giving/to/meals-for-molas
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