She was born Kathleen Marie Hood on October 5, 1954, in Rawlins, Wyoming to Clyde and Juanita Hood. She was the baby of the family. Over the course of her life, Kathleen lived mainly in Louisiana and Colorado. She was reared in Bossier City after her father was promoted to a civilian position at Barksdale Air Force Base. In 1972, she was in the first class to graduate all the way from Curtis Elementary to Parkway Junior High to Parkway High School. Kathleen then attended Louisiana Tech and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Education with a focus on foreign language and English during the bicentennial year 1976.
In 1981, she met Timothy Broderick on a blind date. They fell in love and were married on March 5, 1982. They started a family and were blessed to have five children. In the mid-eighties, the family moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado and lived there for ten years. Kathleen was a stay-at-home mom and taught at Denver Technical College at night. She was heavily involved in the children’s elementary school and in the church parish Holy Family.
When the family moved back to Bossier City in the mid-nineties, she began teaching high school again at Bossier High School and then C.E. Byrd High School. She had taught for a total of thirty-two years before retiring. She was also involved in Delta Kappa Gamma, a teaching society where she served in numerous offices, including president. Later in life, she became a children’s librarian for the Bossier Parish Libraries. She oversaw the children’s crafts for all of the library’s various themes. She worked at the library for four years and loved working with the children.
As her children grew up and started families of their own, she found her favorite calling as a grandmother. Family was the most important thing to her, and the family gathered for every possible holiday and birthday. She loved being “Grandma” and supported her grandchildren’s formal school, religious events as well as informal activities such as Easter egg hunts. Her involvement with the grandchildren always showed her passion and energy to be an integral part of their lives.
Kathleen was a kind, loving, caring and creative person. She enjoyed cooking, baking, reading, and crafting, especially cross-stitch and wreath making. When she found out that there was someone in need, she was one of the first to bring a meal (or two) and give a hug. She was also very generous with her time. She volunteered at church, but had also fulfilled opportunities as a Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout leader, PTA member, and band booster parent.
Kathleen was a strong Christian, and her Catholic faith was her very core. She was always heavily involved with her church parishes: Holy Family, Mary Queen of Peace and finally St. Jude. She was a lector, and Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, a catechist, choir member, sacristan, ACTS team member. She also taught baptism class and was on the stewardship committee. She was a true example of Christ to all those around her.
There was nothing that Kathleen could not do once she set her mind to it. From raising five children to beating cancer, she did everything with dignity, grace, and courage.
She is preceded in death by her parents Clyde and Juanita Hood, her in-laws Robert and Gladys Broderick, Sr., two brothers David and John Hood and sister Judy Ann Hood.
Left to cherish her memory is her devoted husband of forty-two years, Tim. Loving children include daughter Erin Holstrom (Mark), son Tim, Jr. (Stephanie), daughters Katie Todd, Major Molly Broderick (Captain LaKeenya Colvin), Maggie Horsley (Brandon) and ten grandchildren: Isabelle, Emma, Jax, Gage, Madeline, Luke, Espi, Paul, Soren, and Syven. She is also survived by her sister, Barbara Campbell (Jerry) and in-laws Barbara Jean Hood, Robert Broderick, Jr., Mary Power, Gladys Tarpley, Bernadette White, Margaret Crowe, John Broderick, and Catherine McKay. Other survivors include her aunt Billie Jane Tallman (Ernie), many cousins, numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.
Words cannot convey the immense love and respect we hold for Kathleen. She is our dearest and beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. We feel a profound sense of loss at her passing. Our hearts are broken, but we rejoice in knowing that she is in Heaven!
The family would like to thank the staff at PAM Health, Ochsner LSU Health, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and her primary care physician Dr. Jason Milligan for all the care and compassion shown to Kathleen.
If you wish to donate in Kathleen’s name in lieu of flowers, the family suggests the following charities: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society or MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Services are as follows:
Visitation/Vigil: Tuesday, June 25, 2024, from 5:00-7:00 pm, with a rosary at 7:00 pm at Hill Crest Memorial Funeral Home, located at 601 US Highway 80 East, Haughton, Louisiana 71037.
Mass of Christian Burial: Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at 11:30 am at St. Jude Catholic Church, located at 4700 Palmetto Road, Benton, Louisiana, 71006
Interment: Wednesday, June 26, 2024, immediately following mass at Hill Crest Memorial Funeral Home, located at 601 US Highway 80 East, Haughton, Louisiana 71037.
