Kathleen Jarshaw

Kathleen Jarshaw (O’Brien), 90, of Olympia, passed away surrounded by her family at Providence St. Peter Hospital on March 10, 2020, following a short two-day battle with acute onset respiratory failure.

Kathleen, known by the nickname, Primrose, was born on February 18th, 1930, to Michael O’Brien and Margaret (Shannon) in County Mayo, Ireland. After completing her general education through a convent school in her hometown, at the age of 19, she boarded a ship and sailed for America in search of broader opportunities. Once in the United States, she established employment as a model, waitress and manicurist.

While living in Chicago, Illinois, Kathy met and fell in love with a dashing Seabee named Alfred Jarshaw. One of the most treasured tales Kathy liked to share with family and friends was the one of how they had met at a local dance hall in 1952, and how one of her girlfriends was the first to lay eyes on Alfred and had whisper over to her, “I’m going to make that one my husband one day”. With a defiant smirk, she would respond to her friend, “Over my dead body, Sweetie, he’s all mine”. Then at some point later in the evening while Kathy’s friend ventured off to mingle with other dance attendees, Kathy found herself within earshot of Alfred and began to throw pieces of popcorn at him to grab his attention. Alfred, clearly smitten by the initial meeting with Kathy, decided to invite her to join him and his friends after the dance to grab a bite to eat. Later while at the coffee shop, the two ended up sharing stories, sipping hot beverages, and splitting a single slice of pie. When the time finally came for the bill to be paid, Alfred reached for his wallet only to realize he was short on the cash needed to cover it. Without missing a beat, Kathleen reached into her purse, pulled out a couple of dollars and discreetly passed the folded-up bills under the table to Al so he could take care of their charges. Kathy was thrilled nobody ever did realize that it was she who actually paid for that first “date” they had shared, but most of all she loved that Alfred never forgot about it and forever cherished her thoughtfulness to help protect his distinction amongst his peers and subordinates that were near them at the time. Kathy & Alfred’s love for one another only grew from that first chance meeting, and they eventually married on September 10th, 1955, at the Our Queen of Angels Catholic Church.

Later, formally naturalized as a United States citizen on June 7th, 1960, Kathleen followed her husband all over the world, living in such places as Port Hueneme California, Puerto Rico, and Japan, while also welcoming three beautiful children along the way, Colleen, Linda & Mark. Another story Kathy would share with others was the one where she was nominated by Seabee’s and later voted to be their Seabee Queen. Where her role was to preside over the festivities of the annual Seabee Ball which celebrated the founding of the Naval Construction Force. Being a “Queen” was a title Kathy proudly held in addition to her most treasured one of being Master Chief Jarshaw’s wife.

Once retired from Navy life, Alfred and Kathleen decided to put permanent roots down in Olympia, Washington. There, the two worked tirelessly to build a successful family run real estate business that consisted of purchasing and developing many single-family homes, cabins, duplexes, apartments, and multi-unit mobile home parks. While Alfred was in charge of the purchase deals with the bank, rental contracts, taxes & overall property maintenance issues, it was Kathleen who was responsible for much of the day to day happenings. She was responsible for posting rental advertisements in the local newspaper, fielding phone calls related to routine or emergency maintenance issues, taking prospective tenants on tours of available units, deep cleaning units when renters moved out, collecting rent payments and being the on-site landlady that everyone came to know, love and respect. Kathy always had a willingness to listen and provide grace to tenants who may have found themselves faced with hard times outside of their own control from time to time. She would also allow some tenants that were single parents, to spread out their December rent payment so they could purchase a few Christmas gifts for their children without causing more stress than what they typically had to juggle all the other months out of the year. She always had a soft spot in her heart to help others who were down on their luck whenever she reasonably could. And, though her kindness was sometimes sadly taken advantage of or came back to cause tough times for her own family, she never once stopped offering her olive branches because that was just the kind of person she was.

Outside of her jobs as a homemaker and landlady, Kathleen enjoyed going to church regularly, where her family & friends could spot her signature beehive French roll hairstyle immediately upon entering the building. She also liked donating to charities that helped others in need, eating all things lemon flavored, sipping her daily cups of tea, spending time with her family, taking her Ferrari, as she called it (aka “her walker”), out for a cruise around her favorite local casino to play cards or slots with friends, listening to old country & western music, Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler being one of her most beloved tunes, watching favorite TV shows; Wheel of Fortune, General Hospital, Judge Judy & Joe Brown or just about any true crime documentary the Investigation Discovery channel had to offer). She also loved sharing her personal stories, one of a kind laugh that her family called “Grandma/Nana’s Cackle” and her enchanting sense of humor with all who crossed her path. Kathy was a very special lady who never went anywhere without striking up a conversation with a stranger or befriending someone new.

Kathleen was preceded in death by her mother and father, her sisters, Noreen Browne, Bea Kirchen, Mary McGready, brother, John O’Brien, her beloved husband Alfred Jarshaw, her great-grandson Declan Kern and two other special great-grand angels. She is survived by her sister, Vera Byrne, her children, Colleen Leavitt (Herb), Linda Moderski (Jim) and Mark Jarshaw (Rebecca), and numerous nieces & nephews. She is also survived by eleven grandchildren, Dana Kern (Scott), Brian Leavitt, Justin Wilke, Ashley Burrow (Walter), Casey Wilke (Stephanie), Taylor, Cody & Quincy Moderski, Josh, Jack, Thomas and 6 additional great-grandchildren, Karsyn, Sawyer & Karli Kern, Lucas & Charli Burrow, and Teagan Wilke.

A rosary and mass of Christian burial and resurrection will be held at St. Michael's Catholic Church on Friday September 10th, 2021, at 12pm. Due to the current drawn out and ever changing situation related to the Covid-19 pandemic, a reception is unfortunately still unable to be held following the mass. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to St. Vincent de Paul Society of St Michael’s Parish (Olympia) or the Veterans of Foreign Wars, two organizations close to Kathleen's heart that she felt passionate about and supported throughout her lifetime.