Kathleen “Kathy” Cawley

Kathleen “Kathy” Cawley, 83, passed on October 8th, as she always wished, surrounded by love at her daughter’s home where she resided. 

Born in Sommerville, N.J., to Charles and Dorothy (Burke) Culley, she was raised and educated in Bound Brook. Kathy shared an incredible bond with her brothers, Charlie and Joe, which allowed them to survive the tragic loss of their mother as young children. They thrived due to the love of their father and their love for each other, though we are sure it was also their mother’s hand from heaven based on the stories we were told about their many unsupervised adventures.

It was in N.J. that Kathy met the love of her life, Frank Cawley, Jr., a Pennsylvania boy who was traveling there for work. They were married in1968 and lived the majority of their life together in the greater Pittston area where they raised their three children, Kate, Colleen and Frank III. Kathy and Frank enjoyed 32 years of marriage before his death at age 60 in 2000. Her greatest comfort in his death was knowing he wouldn’t try to move her to “the country” in retirement as he had always threatened.

Once her children entered school, Kathy began her work as a secretary at Schott Glass Technologies and was there for 20+ years until her retirement in 2002. She fondly recalled her time at Schott where she made many friends, some who would become family, but retired happily to start her favorite job, Grandma. Nothing brought Kathy more joy than spending time with her eight grandchildren. Baseball, soccer, go cart racing, lacrosse, volleyball, you name it, she was there to cheer them on. Any time spent with them brought her happiness.

Kathy was universally loved, and she shared her love with everyone. If you were lucky enough to be her “Facebook friend”, you were guaranteed to receive a kind word or a question on just about every post you made as well as a new friend request about once a month when the hackers got her again. We can picture the folks at Facebook scratching their heads trying to figure out what caused such a significant drop in the number of daily comments but if you know, you know. It was Kath.

In addition to her parents and husband who welcomed her to heaven, she is also reunited with her brother Charlie Culley, sisters-in-law, Joanne Culley and Mimi Shovlin and other beloved family  and friends.

Left to share her stories and treasure her memory are her children and their families, Colleen, George, Delaney and Paige Kutchkus, Duryea;  Kate, James, J.J. and Riley Horstman, Poconos and Frank, Courtney, Rose Marie, Juliet, Francis and Beau, Laflin; brother, Joe Culley and sister in law, Fran Culley along with many nieces, nephews and friends. Also missing their “Gigi” and the treats and food she shared are Marty, Fred, Parker, and Penelope who all brought her great joy over the past year.

In lieu of flowers, if desired, donations can be made to Meals on Wheels of Greater Pittston, 58 S Main Street, Pittston, Pa 18640.

We ask you to celebrate Kathy’s life by spending time with those you love. Try a few of her favorite things such as an episode of Family Feud, a Notre Dame, Chiefs or Eagles game, a nice glass of Barefoot Merlot or a good book. To truly honor her, make that phone call, visit, and “sign up” to care for the ones you love and who have loved you.

A mass of Christian burial will be held on Saturday October 12, 2024 at 9:30am at St. John The Evangelist Church, 35 William St. Pittston with Fr. Joseph Elston officiating.  Friends may call for visitation on Friday October 11, 2024 from 5pm-8pm at Kiesinger Funeral Services Inc 255 McAlpine St. Duryea.  Family and friends are asked to go directly to the church for services on Saturday morning, there will be no procession from the funeral home.  Interment will be held at Mt. Olivet Cemetery.

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