Kathleen O’Brien Cavanaugh Hingham, Massachusetts — Kathleen “Kathy” O’Brien Cavanaugh passed away peacefully on December 1, 2024. Born on February 27, 1934, in Boston, Kathleen was the daughter of Edward F. and Madeleine M. O’Brien, and the granddaughter of former Governor of New Hampshire Francis P. Murphy and Mae Murphy.
Kathleen was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts and attended the Bancroft School. In 1956, she graduated from Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in New Rochelle, New York as Class President. Upon graduation, she worked at NBC Studios in New York City helping to produce The Arlene Francis Show and then moved to Boston to join the newsroom at Channel 7. It was in Boston that she met her beloved husband of 43 years, Leo Patrick Cavanaugh of Quincy, MA. Kathy and Leo were married on September 27, 1958 and first settled in Cambridge, MA. In 1960, they moved to Hingham where she would spend the next 64 years. When asked by her children why they picked Hingham, Kathleen would often say it was because of the Brigham’s Ice Cream Shop on Main Street.
Over six decades, Kathy dedicated herself to supporting and raising her family in Hingham and contributing to the life of the community. A member of the Junior League of Boston, Kathy volunteered at the Gilday Center for Children and Family Counseling Services in Braintree. She was a parishioner at St. Paul Parish and served on the Parish Council. She was an active member of the Garden Club of Hingham and served as its President. A lifelong member of the Lake Sunapee Yacht Club in Sunapee New Hampshire, Kathy cherished summers spent at the lake and winters skiing at King Ridge and later at Mount Sunapee. Time with friends and extended family in Sunapee and Hingham were filled with laughter and joy.
Kathleen was a substitute teacher in the Hingham Public Schools for over a decade. Her warm and familiar presence to her childrens’ classmates earned her the affectionate nickname of “Mrs. C.” Her career in real estate began in 1984 with Hingham Centre Ltd. where she served as President of the firm for 17 years. Kathy cherished her time with Hingham Centre Ltd. not only in the work of helping families -who became friends – find their Hingham home, but in the women with whom she worked. The Ladies of Hingham Centre were her dearest friends and they helped carry her through the loss of Leo in 2001.
Kathleen always said her most important job and greatest accomplishment was being a mother. From their days on Riverview Road which they nicknamed “fertile valley,” to Old Colony Road, Kathleen and Leo loved raising their five children in Hingham and modeled for them how to sustain lifelong friendships with dinner parties and drinks on the porch. In 2008, Kathy and daughter Deirdre and family decided to live together at Old Colony Road and thus began a special second round of family life in Hingham as she watched her Anderson grandchildren graduate from the same schools and play on the same fields as her own children. Kathy quickly became “Nana” not only to the Andersons’ extended circle of friends but to all of her children and grandchildrens’ friends.
Kathy was preceded in death by her husband, Leo in 2001. She leaves behind her five children and their spouses: Susan Gorgi (Habib) of Providence, RI; Leo P. Cavanaugh Jr. (Maura) of Natick, MA; Mark Cavanaugh (Jeannette) of Severna Park, MD; Clare Wool (Sam) of Burlington, VT; and Deirdre Anderson (Dave) of Hingham. Kathy was the beloved grandmother of seventeen grandchildren and one great-grandson, each of whom she adored.
As the oldest of four siblings, Kathy naturally embraced the role of eldest with love. She is survived by her brother Edward F. O’Brien, Jr. (Debbie) of Plymouth, MA and her sisters Deirdre Ulbrich of Weston, MA, Patricia Currie (Paul O’Leary) of Sunapee, NH and many beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews and second cousins.
Care for Kathy was lovingly shared in the last three years by her friends and the dedicated staff at Allerton House, North River Homecare and the nursing staff and volunteers at the Pat Roche Hospice Home on Hingham’s Turkey Hill.
Friends and family are invited to visiting hours at her family home at 31 Old Colony Road in Hingham on Thursday, December 19th from 2PM-7PM. A Celebration of Life with a funeral mass will be at St. Paul Parish in Hingham on Friday, December 20, 2024 at 11AM. Burial will be private in Newport, New Hampshire where Kathy will be laid to rest beside her beloved Leo and with her family.
Donations may be made in Kathy’s name to the Hingham Historical Society, honoring her love for the community of Hingham. Hingham Historical Society PO BOX 434 Hingham MA 02043 or online https://hinghamhistorical.org/give/