Kathleen Leonard Muldoon, of Mattapoisett, died after a period of declining health at Alden Court Nursing Care and Rehabilitation Center. She was the wife of the late Dr. William Muldoon, D.D.S. She was born on September 22, 1924 in Youngstown, OH, minutes after her identical twin, Jean Leonard Galvin. Her parents were Mary Rose Walsh and Arthur Thomas Leonard.
Kathleen attended Boardman High School in Youngstown for three years. She graduated from Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, MD after the family moved to Bethesda due to her father’s change of employment. She and her twin loyally attended reunions from Boardman High School. Both went on to graduate from Georgetown University Hospital Nursing School in 1945.
She was a Cadet Nurse from 1943-1945, worked in the operating room at Georgetown University, and at a private Doctor’s office in Washington, D.C. For many years, she volunteered as a School Nurse at Bishop Stang High School in Dartmouth and Center School in Mattapoisett. She also performed private duty nursing, volunteered as a hospice nurse, and was on the Board of Directors for St. Luke’s Visiting Nurses and Hospice Care for 14 years.
Kathleen married Bill in 1947 and was mother to six children, grandmother to eighteen, and great-grandmother to thirteen. She was predeceased by her husband Bill, sister, Jean Galvin, brother, Arthur Leonard, and daughter, Jean Ann Muldoon Mastey. Her surviving children are Henry Mastey of New Bedford, William B. Muldoon, Jr. of Mattapoisett, Kathleen Muldoon Bohan and her husband Mark of Mattapoisett, Patrick L. Muldoon and his wife Eileen of Jamestown, RI, Thomas F. Muldoon and his wife Patricia of Mattapoisett and Mary Muldoon Walfield and her husband Steven, of Danvers. Her grandchildren are Andrew Mastey, Sophia Mastey, Molly Jacobson, Kate Wilson, Meg Cole, Ryan Muldoon, Kerrie O’Donnell, Heather Anagnos, Jen Taube, Lindsay Potvin, Shannon Muldoon, Patrick Muldoon, Annie Cundiff, William, Brendan, Thomas, twins Kathleen and Lilly Walfield. Her great-grandchildren are Madeline, Bridget and Griffin Jacobson, Ryan and Charlotte Wilson, Caroline Cole, Taylor and Brooklynn Anagnos, Lainey and Farley O’Donnell-Voyer, Cameron, and Julia and Andrea Potvin, also twins.
Kathleen was one of the first Lectors at St. Lawrence Church. She also taught CCD and sponsored confirmation candidates at St. Lawrence Church. She was very involved in the Cursillo Movement where she lived the retreat and went on to be part of the Team for future Cursillo weekends. She was a member of the YMCA in New Bedford and volunteered as a swimming instructor to Easter Seals Children. She was a member and officer of the Catholic Women’s Club in New Bedford, the New Bedford Garden Club, and the St. Luke’s Auxiliary. She had been a Cub Scout, Brownie and Girl Scout leader, where she also taught first aid to the children.
Kathleen was always very active. She will be remembered riding her bike from our summer home at Crescent Beach to the top of the hill at Point Connett and back, in summer, swimming the sandbars at Crescent Beach daily, and in winter swimming, playing water volleyball, and even performing with the synchronized swimming team at the Y in New Bedford. She enjoyed working in her beautiful gardens along the white picket fence that surrounded the property at Crescent Beach. On Monday afternoons she enjoyed her time with her Mahjong group. Not only did the game keep her sharp, but also kept her up to speed on comings and goings in Mattapoisett.
One of her defining moments came later in her life when she poured all of her nursing and hospice experience into the care and comfort of her oldest child, Jean Ann, who died of cancer in 2005 with her mother at her side.
On Kathleen’s behalf, the Muldoon family would like to recognize all care givers, especially those at Alden Court and Community Nurse for their compassionate and professional care in her final days.
Her Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, December 30, 2016 at 10:00 AM at St. Anthony’s Church, Mattapoisett. Burial to follow in Cushing Cemetery. Family and friends are invited to visiting hours on Thursday, December 29, 2016 from 4-7 PM at Saunders-Dwyer Mattapoisett Home for Funerals, 50 County Road, Route 6, Mattapoisett. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged, in Kay’s name to Community Nurse Home Care, Hospice Program, 62 Center St., Fairhaven, MA 02719. For directions and guestbook, please visit www.saundersdwyer.com.
