Lifelong Woburnite Kathryn M Connolly, age 91.
Kathryn M (McNaney) Connolly passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 7th after a brief illness. The wife of former Tarky School Principal, P. Joseph Connolly, Jr., she was born in East Woburn in July 1917, the only child of Edward J. and Julia (Cogan) McNaney. Kathryn attended the Goodyear School, the then brand new Junior High, and graduated from Woburn High with the Class of 1935, of which she was the Valedictorian.
In the midst of the depression era, she began working at the Woburn National Bank where she eventually became Head Teller until her marriage in 1949 to her high school sweetheart. Kay and Joe Connolly were blessed with four children and she was very proud of having sent them to some of America's best colleges, Notre Dame, Wells, Williams, Cornell, and Harvard Business School.
Kathryn was a dedicated community volunteer, working at the Choate Hospital as a Red Cross aid during the war years, then at the Red Cross Bloodmobile, and, later, serving as club scout den mother, Brownie leader, 4-H Club leader, and participating in Pop Warner, the Boosters and PTA. She was always very active in Woburn church affairs at both Saint Joseph Church and Saint Charles Church. She enjoyed travel, most often to Cape Ann, but also to several European cities and to New York.
She is survived by four children: US Commissioner Joseph E. Connolly, of London, England, Judy Dinneen and her husband Jim of Duxbury, Kevin Connolly and his wife Sharon of Woburn, and Kathleen Ruane and her husband Bill of Belmont. Additionally, she is survived by ten grandchildren: James, Brian, Mark and Michael Dinneen of Duxbury, Allison, Matthew and Kristen Ruane of Belmont and Patrick, Maura, and Christopher Connolly of Woburn
Funeral from the McLaughlin-Dello Russo Funeral Home, 60 Pleasant St. Woburn, Tuesday, August 12, at 10 AM. Followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Charles Borromeo Church, 280 Main St. Woburn at 11 AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully to attend. Visiting hours at the funeral home will be on Monday, August 11 from 3 until 8 pm. Services will conclude with burial at Calvary Cemetery, Woburn. It has been requested that in lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution in Kathryn’s memory to the Friends of the Woburn Public Library, Pleasant Street, Woburn, MA 01801 or to the Woburn Memorial High School Scholarship Fund, 88 Montvale Avenue, Woburn, MA 01801.