Biographies of Our Forefathers
Catharine Marie 'Kitty' McColgan
Kitty was the
fourth child and second daughter of Mary Jane Tinneny and John Patrick
McColgan. She was born in Pennsauken, New Jersey on March 20, 1913. At the
time of her birth the family lived at 221 Highland Avenue in Pennasauken in
a house that her father built.
The home that John
McColgan built for his family at 273 Highland Avenue, Pensauken, New Jersey.
A close-up of
the family, Mary Jane holding Kitty with daughter Isabella seated in chair.
Sons John and Edward sitting on floor with John Standing.
|
The McColgan children with their McKenna cousins.
Taken during a visit of Mary Jane’s sister Margaret Tinneny McKenna and her
family to the McColgan home in in Pennsauken, c.1913. Back
Row L-R: Edward McColgan, John McColgan, Margaret McKenna,
Center: (baby) Catharine “Kitty” McColgan', Front Row L-R: Edward McKenna, Helen McKenna, Isabella (“Pat” McColgan.
|
About 18 months after her birth, Kitty’s mother died of pneumonia and
complications from a miscarriage. John found it
very difficult to work and to care for his four young children. To help
him, he brought his sister Isabella McColgan over from Scotland to live with
them in Pennsauken. It didn’t work out and the arrangement came to a smoky
end. One day while caring for the children, Isabella put a roast in the
oven, put the children to bed for a nap and left the house to socialize.
The roast burned, filling the house with smoke and rescuers had to put young
Johnny, Ed, Isabella and Kitty out of the house through the windows.
After that incident John made his
brother-in-law, Mary Jane’s oldest brother John Tinneny, executor for his
estate, which included the house in Pennsauken. He then put the children
into orphanages, where they remained for an unknown amount of time between
1915 and 1919, and was never seen or heard
from again by the family. His granddaughter Joyce-Ann Roff said she had
heard that her grandfather had been traced to Canada where he attempted to
reenter the military service in an effort to get back to Scotland. Mary
Jane’s brother John returned to Scotland at least once. While
there he checked with family and friends in Greenock but none had
information about John’s status or whereabouts after he left the
family in New Jersey. However, the search for him was successfully
concluded in 2004. See John
P. McColgan Mystery Solved.
The children were placed in a Catholic orphanage
in New Jersey in which boys and girls were housed and managed
separately. Thus, Isabella and Kitty were separated from their
brothers and had little or no contact with them. From the orphanage the
children were “farmed out” which meant they were literally sent out to farms
each day to work as laborers. At some point their Uncle John Tinneny took the children
out of the orphanages. He and his wife Alice took Isabella to live with
them. Maggie Tinneny and her husband Edward McKenna took in John, James Tinneny and his wife Gertrude took in Edward. Mary
Jane’s maternal uncle, Barney Malloy and his wife Mary took Kitty.
At some point Mary
Jane’s youngest brother Patrick gathered the children form the homes of his
siblings and returned them to the orphanages. When his brother
James learned this he and his brother in law Ed McKenna went to the
orphanages, removed the children and returned them to the homes from which
they were taken. James then confronted his younger brother Patrick, they got
into a heated argument over the matter and Jim struck Patrick and “knocked
him on his behind.” Years later, Kitty’s sister Isabella recalled how
their grandmother, Margaret Malloy Tinneny, who by then was a widow,
visited Kitty and her siblings while they were recovering from
illnesses acquired in the
orphanages and brought them cookies.
Kitty grew up with her elderly Aunt Mary and Uncle Barney in the Malloy home
at 4519 1/2 Ritchie Street in Manayunk. She used the Malloy name from
the time she was taken in by them although they hadn’t adopted her. Her
sister Isabella did the same thing using the last name of her uncle John
Tinneny until the time she completed school at which time she reverted to
McColgan on the advice of Father Grace the pastor of Holy Family Church.
Their brother Edward who was raised by his mother’s brother James wanted to
officially change his name to Tinneny but was told by his Uncle Jim that he
wouldn’t consider it that “every man should have his own name.”
Kitty attended Holy Family Catholic Church and school
from which she graduated with a commercial certificate in 1928. She
received her First
Holy Communion and Confirmation at Holy Family.
|
|
First Communion, c.1919. |
Confirmation, c.1922. |
Holy Family School class of 1928. Kitty is seated first row far left.
From the time she was 13 years old, in addition to her classes Kitty worked
various jobs to earn money some of which she saved.
While growing up on Ritchie Street she said that she would sneak out of the
house through an upstairs window and cross a roof to visit her brother
Johnny or to otherwise leave the house clandestinely.
|
|
Photo: Front row L-R Kitty, her Aunt Marry with
whom she lived and her sister Isabella “Pat.”
|
Kitty c.1929. |
As
indicated,
Kitty had a strong work ethic and eventually worked as laboratory technician
and medical assistant at a laboratory in downtown Philadelphia. One day she
was looking out the window of the lab and saw a man jump from the building
across the street. She said he hit the ground landing partially on the curb
and on the street and his head was severed by the impact. Another day Kitty
was working in the lab alone and the notorious gangster Al Capone came in
with a wound of some sort, which she stitched. She told her daughter Bonnie
that although Capone didn’t tell her who he was she clearly recognized him
from newspaper photos and films.
Photos: Kitty at
work in the laboratory in downtown Philadelphia while still in her
teens and with a co-worker at the laboratory, 1930.
Kitty and her siblings always remained close even when separated by great
distances at times.
|
|
Photo: Kitty,
her brother Edward and sister Isabella at Walnut Lane Golf Course.
Ed was home on leave from the Navy,1931. |
Photo: L-R Kitty
with her sister Isabella, 1930. |
Kitty was an accomplished actress in local theater and
performed with The Holy Family Players at Holy Family and at Saint John
The Baptist Churches in Manayunk and in other local venues. Years later
she applied her thespian skills directing and acting in local
productions in Arkansas.
An
account of the Holy Family Players from the Holy Family
centennial anniversary book, Church of the Holy Family
1885-1985.
Kitty not only acted in various theatrical productions in Philadelphia and
Arkansas, she actually directed productions as evidenced in this news story,
The Suburban Press, Feb. 16, 1950.
Kitty played the lead role in the Holy Family Players 1944 production of
Abie’s Irish Rose. She is said to have been in the first community theater
production of that show beyond Broadway. From the
Centennial Anniversary Book - Church of the Holy Family 1885-1985.
In
addition to her involvement with the Holy Family Players, Kitty was a member
of the Kendrick Dramatic Club, which in 1931 won the City tournament
among similar organizations, and in 1929 was awarded a cup. The following
excerpt from an article in a local newspaper February 16, 1933, author
unknown, lauded Kitty’s performance in one of the club’s popular
performances.
“Kendrick” Has
|
Fine Dramatic Organization
|
Bart A. Hanlon Directs
|
A Clever Group at
|
Recreation Center
|
Several hundred residents of
this vicinity witnessed a demonstration of one of the finest
accomplishments of the development of young people which is promoted
at the local Recreation Centre, when the Kendrick Dramatic Club
staged a three-act mystery play “The Furies” in the auditorium of
the community building, at Ridge and Roxborough Avenue, on Monday
evening. … “Standing out among all
others for dramatic ability was Miss Katherine McColgan, who
portrayed the part of, “Mrs. Rhodes”. With every gesture, scornful
utterance and indignation, the rise and fall of her voice as she
gave her impression of her feelings, Miss McColgan presented a
splendid characterization of the part assigned her”. ...
|
Kitty
and Walter Hagenbucher were married at Holy Family Church June
6, 1936. Her matron of honor was Marie McColgan the wife of her
brother John. Her wedding band was made of platinum and engraved
with the initials W.O.H. C.M.M. 6.6. 1936.
Kitty told her daughter Joyce-Ann of a
particularly painful experience when following her wedding her Aunt Mary cut up her wedding dress
because she hadn’t wanted her to marry him.
Wedding photos of Kitty and Walter Hagenbucher, 1936.
Walter, born in Philadelphia September 14, 1909, was the only
child of Genevieve and Nathan Hagenbucher. He was of German
extraction and his grandfather Hagenbucher fought in the
American Civil War. His cousin Edson F. Hagenbucher owned The
19th Hole bar at Jamestown Street and Henry Avenue in Roxborough
near the Walnut Lane golf course.
Kitty and Walter on the
boardwalk Wildwood, New Jersey with her sister in law Marie
McColgan to Kitty’s left c.1936.
Following their marriage Kitty and Walter lived in the house on
Ritchie Street in which Kitty was raised. Their children John
"Butch",
Joyce-Ann and Martin were born while they lived there. Her Aunt
Mary Malloy left the house to Kitty. In the late 1940s Kitty
sold it to the Donohue family and the family moved to an
apartment on the second floor of the 19th Hole. Walter
tended bar there and she made sandwiches and other bar food.
|
|
Kitty, Walter Marty, John, and
Joyce-Ann.
|
Joyce-Ann, Martin and John near
the cabin of their Dad’s cousin in the mountains
of Pennsylvania.
|
Photo of Walter with son John and daughter Joyce-Ann taken on
the occasion of John’s First
Holy
Communion c.1944.
It
was while they were living above the 19th Hole, about 1949, that
the marriage began to fail. Kitty discussed the situation with
Father Lyons at Holy Family Church and he recommended that she
and the children get in a more wholesome environment. She and
the children moved to a house on Sheldon Street near Ackey’s
Hill, near the intersection of Hermitage and Sheldon Streets, in
Manayunk. They divorced in 1951.
As with her other siblings, Kitty and the
children were close with her older brother John McColgan and his
family. They enjoyed family gatherings at
John’s place in Dushore, Pennsylvania.
Kitty,
with her brother John, Dick Steele and her son Butch”c.1950.
Row1 L-R: Joe McColgan, Joyce-Ann, Marty, Tom
McColgan. |
Row 2, L-R: Joan McColgan, John "Jack" McColgan. |
Row 3. L-R: Marie McColgan and Kitty, 1950. |
Row 1, L-R:
Seated Tom and Joe McColgan and Butch, |
Row 2, L-R:
Joyce-Ann, and Joan McColgan, 1950.
|
At the lake Dushore front to rear: Marty, Tom McColgan, Joe McColgan,
Joyce-Ann, Jack McColgan, Butch and Joan McColgan, 1950.
Kitty
and Dick Steele at the lake in the Pennsylvania mountains
during a visit with her brother John, 1950.
Photo: Kitty at Dushore,1950.
Siblings (L-R) Ed, Pat, Kitty and John at
Dushore.
To support herself and the three young children after she
and Walter separated, Kitty went to work at the Anchor Packing Company
in Philadelphia. Her daughter Joyce-Ann believes that is where she met
her future husband Richard Dunlap “Dick” Steele. He was from Roxborough.
His mother taught for many years at Joel Cook Elementary School in
Manayunk and they lived near the Green Lane branch of the Philadelphia
Library.
There is story of a prophetic comment made by Dick prior
to Kitty working at Anchor Steel. While she was still working at the 19th
Hole, it seems that Dick was at the end of the bar and saw her making
sandwiches one evening. He told the fellow next to him “See that woman
there I am going to marry her some day.” The other fellow said, “She is
already married to Hagenbucher. Dick said, “I know but I am going to
marry her some day.”
When they met, Dick was in his early 30s and about 8
years younger than Kitty. He was a veteran, having served as a fighter
pilot and been a prisoner of war in World War II.
Dick in one of the
fighter aircraft he flew.
After they met, Dick who had a wonderful voice
participated with Kitty in several of the Holy Family Players
productions. Years later when they lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas
he was active with veterans groups and sang at the funerals
of veterans.
Kitty and Dick married in January 1952 and two
weeks later they moved with the children to Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Dick’s brother Bob had moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas some years
earlier and established a construction company. Dick went to
work for his brother and the family began their new lives in
Fayetteville. Kitty’s son Butch remembered Dick had a1951 green
Mercury when they first lived in Fayetteville.
Prior to Kitty and Dick marrying, Dick invited
Butch, to take a trip with him from Philadelphia
to visit with his brother in Arkansas. During the long drive Dick
asked Butch for his permission to marry his mother and of course
Butch said yes. On arriving in Arkansas Butch found it was quite
different than the neighborhood back in Philadelphia. They visited
Dick’s brother in Fort Smith then went to Fayetteville. He got a real flavor
of the area and for the first time even saw and repeatedly activated
the automatic door at the local business. When they returned to
Philadelphia he immediately announced to Kitty on entering the house
that Dick planned to marry her and they were moving to Arkansas. No
doubt neither was a surprise to her.
|
|
L-R: Joyce-Ann, Marty, Kitty and Butch, 1952 |
L-R:
Kitty, Marty, Joyce-Ann and Dick, 1952. |
From the time they arrived in
Arkansas the children stopped using the name Hagenbucher and
began using Dick’s last name, thereafter they were known as
Steeles. July 29, 1984 Dick initiated the process to formally
adopt John, Joyce-Ann and Martin, which became effective in
October that year. In 1954 Kitty and Dick’s daughter Barbara Ann
“Bonnie” was born.
Dick, Kitty, Marty and Butch, c. 1952
|
|
Bonnie and her parents in the house on Berry Street
in 1966. Courtesy of Bonnie Steele Strode.
|
Marty and
Butch with little sister 2-year old Bonnie, 1956. |
March 11, 1956, after suffering from malignant
melanoma for 2 years, Walter passed away from Overwhelming Toxemia
at the Wissahicken Nursing Home in Philadelphia. His cousin Dorothea
Hagenbucher arranged for his burial in the same plot with his
parents in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Although she didn’t arrange for a headstone, years later his
children purchased a flat marker with Walter’s name and those of his
parents, Nathan and Genevieve, and had it installed on the
Hagenbucher plot.
Walter’s death
certificate. Ancestry.com.
When Kitty learned of Walter’s death she
immediately made arrangements for she and Dick to marry in the
Catholic Church. Father Edward R. Maloy married her and Dick at
Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church in Fayetteville in May 1956. However,
their daughter Bonnie recalled that they only celebrated their
original wedding anniversary date.
Kitty, Dick and the family lived at 391 Fletcher
Street, at the intersection of Lafayette and Mission Roads,
Fayetteville from May 1952 until 1963. While living there, Kitty
decided that she wanted a window in the rear wall of the kitchen so
she could watch the birds and the squirrels in the yard. The
resulting three-pane window brought her great joy since she very
much liked to watch the birds and other creatures in the yard. They
also built an apartment in the basement for Fran Haggerty, a very
good friend of Kitty’s, who had lived on Wilde Street in Manayunk.
Fran had followed them to Fayetteville and lived with them until she
moved back up north when Bonnie was born.
Dick, Kitty with Joyce-Ann, 1964.
Eventually they moved to a brick house at 2201 Berry
Street. By that time their daughter Bonnie was the only child living
at home.
The house on Berry Street in 1966. Courtesy of Bonnie Steele Strode.
One of the first jobs Dick had in Arkansas was as
superintendent of the construction team that built the Methodist
Hospital on Dixon Street in Fayetteville. He also was the timekeeper
on the Central Methodist Church, Fayetteville High School and the
University of Arkansas Student Union construction projects of his
brother’s firm, Davidson - Steele Construction Co. of Ft. Smith,
Arkansas. He later served as construction superintendent on the
sewage/water treatment plant project the company built in Tulsa
Oklahoma. After that he wanted to be closer to home so he accepted
small contracts in Fayetteville, managed a Mobile gas station and
sold used cars. Dick also worked for the Oklahoma Tire and Supply
Company on the Square in Fayetteville. While waiting for a position
to come open with the US Post Office he worked at Anchor Paint in
Fayetteville. He was subsequently employed by the U S Postal Service
from 1960 until his retirement in 1985.
Dick was very active in the American Legion and
other veteran organizations. He was the founding director of the
Northwest Arkansas Air Museum located at the Fayetteville Airport
and a member of the Elks Lodge. Although he didn’t speak of his
wartime experiences at home he likely did with some of his fellow
vets at the American Legion Post.
At one point a friend and fellow veteran,
suggested he do an audio interview of Dick to document his wartime
experiences and to provide a record of those experiences for his
family and friends. That effort resulted in an audiotape, paper
transcript and typed account of his experiences during the war.
The following was obtained from the transcript of
the interview. Although Dick signed up to enlist in the service July
3,1942, due to a backlog of enlistees he wasn’t inducted until
January 3, 1943. A highlight of the interview project was Dick’s
account of May 11, 1944, the day his fighter aircraft was hit by
20mm anti aircraft ground fire over occupied Dijon France during his
13th and final combat mission. He described his thoughts on being
hit and exiting the aircraft; being found and assisted by the French
underground; his capture by Germans and being transported to the
prison camp near Barth, Germany and experiences during the year he
was a POW. At the time of his capture Dick was assigned with the 8th
Air Force, 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group.
Although as mentioned above, Dick didn’t discuss
his wartime experiences, on Marty’s 18th birthday Dick stayed home
from work and Marty from school and Dick spent 8 hours describing in
great detail his wartime experiences to Marty. At the end of the
session he told Marty that he was not to discuss the events and
definitely not with Kitty. That was a very memorable event for Marty
and the accounts were not discussed again.
Dick and Kitty
Kitty was a mainstay of Saint Joseph’s Church, which
was founded in 1887 and located at Lafayette and Walnut Streets
in Fayetteville. She was a very active volunteer in the parish
for many years and a good friend of the pastor Father Edward R.
Maloy. He was the longest serving pastor of the parish (1951-1973).
Kitty frequently had Father Maloy and his assistant, Father Louis Cooper,
to the house for dinner. She also acted and directed plays in the
parish hall as she had done in Philadelphia. When the parish was
going to have a church supper Father Maloy would call Kitty and ask
her to prepare her usual 40 loafs of bread and a lot of spaghetti,
which she gladly did.
Like his
mother, Marty was also active in the parish. He served as an alter
boy from the time he was in the second grade until he left the area
to join the Marines. He served at Mass every day before school while
he was a student at Saint Joseph’s.
When Father Maloy’s elderly mother moved into his
residence at Saint Joseph’s Kitty and Marty helped care for Mrs.
Maloy. Father Maloy gave them each a prayer book. Years
later, after Kitty passed away, Marty who had lost his
prayer book while serving in Vietnam, was given the
prayer book and rosary that Fr. Maloy gave Kitty.
Years before Marty graduated from the Army Amour
Officer Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was the
distinguished graduate of the class and the first and only marine
since to have earned that honor. For that accomplishment he was
presented an army officer cavalry sword which he gave to his mother
and which was returned to him along with the prayer book and rosary.
Throughout her adult life the theatrical agent Nibs
Costello corresponded with Kitty. She came to know him when she
worked in community theatre at the Family Playhouse and with the
Holy Family Actors. Costello served as business agent for many of
the famous Hollywood Stars including Theresa Brewer and Kitty
Kallen. He had offered Kitty the opportunity to play the Blessed
Mother in a television play. The two communicated via Christmas
cards, occasional letters and exchanged photos. In the 1950s Nibs
frequently sent Kitty newly released phonograph records of singers
for which he was agent.
When
they moved to Arkansas Kitty didn’t work until the children were
grown at which time she worked in the medical records unit at
Washington Memorial Hospital in Fayetteville. She then worked in the
private practice of Dr. James Patrick M.D. Her daughter Bonnie said
that she could do almost anything the doctor could do. While working
with Dr. Patrick one of her tasks was to assist interns from the
University of Arkansas Medical School who did part of their training
at his office. When she was 66 years old she retired and to her
great surprise learned that she would receive a monthly check of
$1.56 from the state for the time she worked with the interns. Kitty
was totally devoted and committed to the patients she served while
working with Dr. Patrick and they were uncommonly appreciative of
her. In discussing that period, Marty vividly remembered the many
times that patients would show up at their house with baskets of
vegetables, fruit and other home grown and prepared food items,
tokens of their appreciation and the high esteem in which they held
her.
She also worked for a time as a waitress in the
cafeteria of the Mountain Inn near the square in downtown
Fayetteville. Although Dick had taught her to drive and she had a
driver license she didn’t drive and usually walked the 2 or 3 miles
to and from work. After the Mountain Inn and Bonnie’s arrival Kitty
opened a child daycare center in their home.
Her son John recalled that Kitty also ran the Gulf
Café
across the street from the Ozark
Theatre while he was in school at Coffeyville, Kansas. He said she
regularly sent him food boxes that his football teammates would
clean out in a hurry.
Although Kitty didn’t have the opportunity to see
her son Marty rise to the 3 star rank of Lieutenant General in the
United States Marine Corps, Dick did and it must have been a source
of great pride to him as a veteran. When Marty made comments
following his pinning to the rank of general he spoke of his mother
and her influence on his life.
When she was about 70 years old Kitty was
diagnosed with boarder line diabetes. She also had a coronary
condition from which she eventually passed away. Her final illness
lasted two years. Dick took care of her at home for about 15 months
before it became necessary for her to be cared for in a nursing home
in Springdale, Arkansas. When she went into the nursing home her
daughter Joyce-Ann made her a collage of family photos that she
could see from the bed.
Remembering those visits, Joyce-Ann said that
Kitty sometimes called her by her sister Isabella’s name Pat
although Kitty usually recognized Joyce-Ann and talked with her
about her children.
One day her son John brought Dick to see her and
Dick was upset throughout the visit about Kitty being there. Kitty
said to John and Dick “Joe Tinneny came to visit me last night.”
Joe Tinneny, Kitty’s first cousin and Richard Tinneny’s godfather,
of course was far away in Philadelphia. Then, when Dick was sitting
at the bottom of the bed she said to Butch “I really didn’t see Joe
Tinneny."
While in the nursing home Joyce-Ann visited
her regularly from Kansas and on one occasion brought her a
Teddy Bear for her birthday. The bear had a heart pinned to it
with a photograph of Joyce-Ann’s family.
At
Christmas Joyce-Ann brought Kitty a little decorated
Christmas tree for her room, which they both decorated.
At Christmas every year since, Joyce-Ann takes the tree
out of storage, adds one decoration and puts it on her
bookcase for the holiday.
Kitty was in the nursing facility for about 9
months. April 3, 1992 she was transferred to Springdale Memorial
Hospital. The hospital called Bonnie who was a nurse at Saint Mary’s
Hospital, it seemed Kitty had taken a turn for the worse and the
staff wanted permission to put her on a respirator. Bonnie denied
permission based on a living will in which Kitty had documented her
wishes.
As the family gathered at the hospital for their
final visit, Kitty could still recognize and greet each of them. At
one point she reached out for Dick and he looked down and said
“Kitty, I guess this is your last show.” Kitty past away surrounded
by her family at 5:00am April 4th.
The funeral was April 6,1992 at Saint Joseph’s Church. Marty
delivered the eulogy followed by Kitty’s granddaughter Cyndi singing
Danny Boy, which Kitty taught her when she was 11 years old. The
Mass was followed by burial at the National Cemetery in
Fayetteville.
To their surprise, while
visiting her parents' grave sometime later, Bonnie and her husband
Lynn realized that Lynn’s parents are buried five graves from her
parents.
Kitty’s marker is on the reverse of Dick’s in
accordance with Department of Veterans Affairs
policy. Photos from Findagrave Website
Following
Kitty’s death, Dick continued to live in the family home at 2201
Berry St. In April 1995, was admitted to the Veteran’s
Hospital, Fayetteville in a comatose state. From there he was
transferred to the Washington Regional Medical Center then to
the nursing home of the Fayetteville City Hospital.
On November
10th he was near death and they notified the family
and the Red Cross was requested to contact Marty who was
on assignment
in Asia. When
attempts to reach Marty appeared to be unsuccessful Bonnie
called their cousin Rich Tinneny in South Carolina, a retired
Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, and asked for his help
contacting Marty. Rich called Camp Lejeune and had them patch
him through to the HQ Marine Corps Command Post and requested
they contact Marty in Korea, which they did.
On the 11th,
although he couldn’t communicate,
the family said that Dick was holding on waiting for Marty.
Marty called the hospital and with his siblings gathered around
Dick, John put the phone to Dick’s ear and Marty spoke with him.
Dick could not speak but those in the room said, it was
obvious from the expression on his face that he heard Marty.
As Butch hung up the phone Dick passed away surrounded by his children and having heard
Marty.
Dick’s
remains were cremated and buried with full military honors,
including a 21-gun salute, at the National Cemetery in
Fayetteville. Marty, then a Major General in the Marine
Corps delivered what his sister Bonnie described as an eloquent
eulogy. Dick and Kitty had completed their long journey from Manayunk and were reunited.
As she did at her grandmother’s funeral, Cyndi
sang Danny Boy.
Catharine
was the daughter of
Mary Jane Tinneny
and John McColgan and the granddaughter of Margaret
Malloy and
Patrick “Yankee Pat” Tinneny
of Goladuff, Newtownbutler, county Fermanagh, Northern
Ireland; Greenock, Scotland and Philadelphia.
Note: All
photographs are from the McColgan/Steele family collection
courtesy of Joyce-Ann Roff unless otherwise attributed. Some
were modified and enhanced by Rich Tinneny.
Eulogy |
For |
Catharine Marie “Kit” Steele |
March 20, 1913 – April 4, 1992 |
Delivered by |
Colonel Martin R. Steele |
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church |
Fayetteville, Arkansas |
April 6, 1992 |
This
holy and sacred ceremony would not be complete without taking a
moment to briefly reflect on the 79 years of this woman, wife,
mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother we honor and remember
today. In trying to capture the essence of her being, the
description “totally dedicated and committed to the love, welfare
and services of her fellow human beings” might capture it best.
Loosing her mother at 18months, she was abandoned by her father and
spent her early years in a New Jersey catholic orphanage where the
harsh existence molded a woman of unquestionable faith in her god
and religion, coupled with an incredible resolve to love and care
for the sick, the aged and the less fortunate. This strength of
character and the theme of service to mankind separated her from her
pears and impacted and impacted not only on her immediate family but
also on all who came in contact with her.
Part
of her legacy lives in the fact that she she leaves a husband who,
although retired, served the people of Fayetteville in the Post
Office for 23 years. A son who serves the citizens of Oklahoma by
helping to reduce the trauma associated with fire and natural
disasters, a daughter who serves the citizens of Kansas as a
telephone operator patiently assisting people when they are normally
not at their best, a son who serves this great nation by attempting
to maintain peace in a world filled with war and chaos, and a
daughter who serves the people of Arkansas by helping to bring new
life, babies, into the world as a registered nurse.
This
legacy of service in her offspring is not by mere coincidence but
because we flow from the blood of her veins, the faith in her heart,
and the resolve born in that New Jersey orphanage. That impact
extends to her 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her
impact on others can be best described by a short vignette I would
like to share with you today.
As
many of you know she worked in the Doctor’s Building here in
Fayetteville for almost 20 years. Once when I was returning from an
overseas assignment to Japan, I came to town by myself and, as was
my custom the first stop was always at the Doctors Building on
Spring Street. On this particular occasion, something seemed
different. When I went through her private entrance I quickly
noticed a throng of patients lining the walls and the waiting room -
but no nurses and no doctors, only my mother. When I asked her where
they were she told me, “the doctors were at a convention, the nurses
had the day off, but the patients would have no day off from their
fear, pain and suffering.” She quickly put me to work lining up
patients in rooms in order of their severity. She was dutifully and
patiently attending mothers with ailing babies, mothers with ailing
high school athletes, and young mothers to be, just to name a few.
Most remarkable was the elderly couple who turned out to be farmers
from south of town. The woman, at least in her 70s, summed the
situation up best. When she learned I was her son, she said, “Young
man, Miss Kitty has been keeping me alive for 10 years. I’ve got
grandchildren to watch grow up and I’m just not going to miss it.”
Her husband, short on words but long on candor, quickly chimed in
that he was in great health but just came to town to see Miss Kitty,
the Florence Nightingale of Northwest Arkansas.” When he asked me
if I know who Florence Nightingale was, I pointed toward my mother
working on a patient in one of the closed rooms and said “Yes sir,
she’s behind that door with Mother Teresa.”
God
allowed her over 50 years of helping bring life into the world,
keeping people alive, and comforting them as they neared death. He
gave us a woman who, for 79 years, demonstrated selfless, dedicated
service and love for her fellow human beings. When her own health
began to fade and she had to retire from nursing, God gave her Betty
Faubus Hartman to help take care of her. Thank you Betty.
More
recently, when she had to be put in a beautiful nursing home in
Springdale, the head nurse, unsolicited, described her to me as the
most remarkable woman she had ever met and the model caregiver they
all tried to emulate. On Saturday, the receptionist at the funeral
home volunteered my mother had helped her two children into the
world and poignantly described the times she had nursed them to
health throughout their young lives.
In
some way she left a positive mark on everyone in this church.
Several are quality doctors and nurses because of her example and
influences. Each of us was affected by her mere presence.
I
believe it most fitting to close by relating the conversation I had
just last night with her comrade for all those years, Dr. James K.
Patrick. He emphasized how their practice was a true partnership.
How he viewed this time as a time of joy. How he remembered her for
three main things, her remarkable smile that positively affected
everyone, her continuous return to her Catholic faith when times
were difficult, and how there was only one description of her – a
saint.
God
has peacefully taken her to his bosom. He has ensured her legacy for
mankind will be endless. One of her grandchildren will now sing a
song our mother taught her when she was eleven years old and
approved just for this occasion.
|
|
|