Kathleen E. O'Grady

Kathleen O’Grady of Cape Cod Senior Residences, Pocasset, MA left this world on November 11, 2025. She arrived in Irvington, NY on June 18, 1931 to Irish immigrants, Clare and Lee Hurst, who both passed away prematurely, leaving Kathleen still a teenager to care for her younger sister, Clare. Despite such a difficult start, Kathleen went on to live a life of service to others, marked by kindness and gratitude.

She graduated from our Lady of Victory high school and in 1955 married John O’Grady which dramatically changed her small town girlhood of limited means. Kathleen and John raised their four children in places as diverse as Puerto Rico, England, New York State, and Massachusetts. Over their lifetimes, they traveled throughout Europe, Canada, and the states but Kathleen especially enjoyed visiting her many Hurst and Duff first cousins as well as the O’Grady’s in Ireland.

Her life was devoted to being a wife and mother, but she also volunteered many hours to Hospice, Meals on Wheels, and was an active church parishioner wherever the family lived at the time. Kathleen took great pleasure in her perennial flower beds, quilting many bedspreads, wall hangings, and other household items that her family continue to enjoy. John and Kathleen retired to Cape Cod in 2000 to enjoy the coastline community of Bourne.

After John passed in 2019 Kathleen remained active in her church, enjoyed knitting and watching the birds on her feeder. She will always be remembered as a kind, happy, and loving person to her friends and family who will miss her cooking, especially her soda bread.

She is survived by her sister, Clare Intemann of Greenlawn, NY; daughter Mary Clare O’Grady (Eric Hovermale) of Newport, RI; son Sean O’Grady (Melissa Glick) of Cambridge, MA; daughter Maura Ledbetter (Bob Stengel) of Wareham, MA; and son Thomas (Sarah) O’Grady of Gloucester, MA; as well as her treasured grandchildren Kate and Jack Ledbetter, and Emily, Amanda, Jennifer, and Alice O’Grady.