1931-2022
Kathleen McDermott passed away suddenly but peacefully on January 17th in Livermore, California, surrounded by her family. She was 90 years old. She often said that one of the best days of her life was when she and her husband Tom and their four children moved to Goleta from the San Fernando Valley in 1969. She lived in the same house until she moved to Livermore two years ago to be closer to her children.
Kathleen taught 7th and 8th grades Maths and Science at St Raphael’s School from 1970 until her retirement in 1992. Even in her later years, it was hard to step out of the house and not hear a student long ago yell, “Hey Mrs. McDermott! She loved that and was always curious to see how her former students were doing. She has enjoyed her book club, nights playing bridge with friends, and dinner groups over the years. Kathleen has made many long-standing and loyal friends through these groups and treasures them all. She still enjoyed the company of college friends from Lone Mountain (USF) College in San Francisco.
Kathleen was born on September 2, 1931 in Sioux City, Iowa, the second of three children by Dr. Leo and Ann Wilson born. World War II brought the family to the west coast as her father served as an army doctor. After the war they settled in San Jose, California. She met her husband Tom when he was a student in Santa Clara and she was in Lone Mountain. They enjoyed a long and happy marriage until his death in 2017.
Kathleen is survived by four children, Tom (Margrethe) from Elk Grove, Brian (Lynne) from Napa, Molly (Ralph) from Tracy, and Maureen (Bob) from Livermore, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She was also preceded by two grandchildren in death
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A funeral mass will be held on Saturday 19 February at 9:30 am in St. Raphael’s Church in Goleta, followed by a reception in the parish hall.
In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting Noozhawk. Kathleen loved reading the local news and keeping up with what was happening in Santa Barbara.
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