Kathleen Granara Skerry, 56, of Medford, retired Director of Administrative Services at the Massachusetts State Parole Board after a 44 month battle with Pancreatic Cancer passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on Tuesday.
A loving wife, mother and grandmother, Kathy is survived by her beloved husband David Skerry, three loving stepsons, Patrick Skerry and his wife Kristen of Providence, RI; John Skerry and his wife Betty of Miami, FL; and Brian Skerry and his wife Linda of Boston, loving grandmother of Ryan and Owen Skerry.
Sister of John Granara and his wife Judy, Paul Granara and his wife Joyce, Robert Granara and his wife Loretta, Nancy Sabataso and her husband Patrick, all of Medford, Edward (Ned) Granara of Malden and James Granara and his wife Elizabeth of Medford. Kathy is also survived by twenty-two loving nieces and nephews, her dear friend Joan Corcoran and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
Kathy was predeceased in death by her parents, the late John R. and Janet Lenox Granara.
An avid world traveler, gardener, sports enthusiast and philanthropist, Kathy and her husband traveled throughout the world on over forty cruises. Her garden was the centerpiece of her annual July 4th gathering. An avid sports fan, Kathy enjoyed watching all of the Boston teams and was a particular fan of Tufts University where her three stepsons played basketball and the Big East after her stepson, Patrick, was appointed Assistant Basketball Coach at Providence College. Kathy hosted and founded the Butterfly Club for her younger nieces where she entertained and taught them life and family values.
A prolific fundraiser for Pancreatic Cancer research, Kathy founded the Granara-Skerry Trust that has generated over a quarter of a million dollars for Pancreatic Cancer Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. In March, Kathy was notified by the MGH that she was to be honored and recognized as one of its top 100 fundraisers for cancer research at the hospital’s annual fundraising event in June.
Her funeral will be from the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 306 Main St. Medford Saturday at 9 Am followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Joseph Church, High St. Medford at 10 AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited and may visit Thursday 6 – 8 and Friday 4 – 8.
In lieu of flowers the family respectfully requests that you forward a donation to the MGH Pancreatic Cancer Research Department c/o 20 Butler Street Medford, MA 02155.