Katherine Murphy Woerner passed away June 25, 2015 at age 82 after a brief illness. Born of the late Cornelius and Norma Murphy, she was the first of six siblings who grew up in West Roxbury. After school and college, she became a teacher in the Boston Public Schools first at the Manning School and, a few years later, was appointed as one of the teachers at the Maurice Tobin School, known as the “Model School” where aspiring teachers were taught teaching skills by those teachers who were known for their mastery of solid and fruitful teaching. For her work, she was awarded the “Golden Apple” as the best teacher of the year in the Boston schools. She was cited by Boston Magazine as Outstanding Teacher of the Year. She was also featured in an exhibit at the Boston Public Library of outstanding Bostonians of Irish American heritage.
Always an active and committed Democrat, she assisted Christopher Iannella in his campaign for Mayor in 1967. In 1968, she was asked to join Gerard Doherty and other Boston Democrats in Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign. She headed the “Boiler Room” which was the central headquarters overseeing the work of that campaign in Indiana and California. She was part of the small group who met with the candidate only minutes before his tragic death at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
After Robert Kennedy’s funeral in New York, she returned to teaching in Boston and, in addition, was an adjunct Professor of Education at Simmons College where she developed special models for teaching English as a second language. In here retirement years, she worked and volunteered at the Kennedy Library in Dorchester.
In 1975, she married Herman Woerner, an architect at several local and international firms. They made their home first in Boston and Newton and later in Dedham and Cohasset before returning to Boston a few years ago. Wherever they lived, she was known by her many friends as an exceptional hostess, an intelligent conversationalist and a delightful dinner companion. She is greatly mourned by her beloved husband, Herman of Boston, her sister Sr. Paul St. Katherine SND of Andover, her brother, Robert and his family of Swampscott, her brother, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, NY and her godson, Brian Doherty of Norwell, and a host of friends whose friendship she cherished and whose lives were touched by hers.
Funeral from the William J. Gormley Funeral Home 2055 Centre St. WEST ROXBURY, Monday, July 6, 2015 at 9 am, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Theresa of Avila Church West Roxbury at 10 o’clock. Visiting hours Sunday 4-8 pm. Relatives and friends invited. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Katherine’s memory may be made to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 30 Jeffries Neck Rd. Ipswich, MA 01938.
Always an active and committed Democrat, she assisted Christopher Iannella in his campaign for Mayor in 1967. In 1968, she was asked to join Gerard Doherty and other Boston Democrats in Robert Kennedy’s presidential campaign. She headed the “Boiler Room” which was the central headquarters overseeing the work of that campaign in Indiana and California. She was part of the small group who met with the candidate only minutes before his tragic death at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.
After Robert Kennedy’s funeral in New York, she returned to teaching in Boston and, in addition, was an adjunct Professor of Education at Simmons College where she developed special models for teaching English as a second language. In here retirement years, she worked and volunteered at the Kennedy Library in Dorchester.
In 1975, she married Herman Woerner, an architect at several local and international firms. They made their home first in Boston and Newton and later in Dedham and Cohasset before returning to Boston a few years ago. Wherever they lived, she was known by her many friends as an exceptional hostess, an intelligent conversationalist and a delightful dinner companion. She is greatly mourned by her beloved husband, Herman of Boston, her sister Sr. Paul St. Katherine SND of Andover, her brother, Robert and his family of Swampscott, her brother, Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, NY and her godson, Brian Doherty of Norwell, and a host of friends whose friendship she cherished and whose lives were touched by hers.
Funeral from the William J. Gormley Funeral Home 2055 Centre St. WEST ROXBURY, Monday, July 6, 2015 at 9 am, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Theresa of Avila Church West Roxbury at 10 o’clock. Visiting hours Sunday 4-8 pm. Relatives and friends invited. Interment St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations in Katherine’s memory may be made to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 30 Jeffries Neck Rd. Ipswich, MA 01938.
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