Kathleen Bannon

Born 1924-Died 2023

Bannon, Kathleen (née Reynolds) passed away peacefully on July 12, 2023 at her home in Manhattan, New York. Kathleen was born on October 18, 1924 on a farm in the small town of Drumshanbo, County Leitrim, Ireland to Patrick and Bridget (nee Flanagan) Reynolds, a farming family of modest means. When Kathleen was seven years old, her father died in a farming accident. She and her three siblings, who ranged in age from three to ten, helped their grieving mother take care of the farm and Kathleen also helped to raise her young brother. When Kathleen was in her late teens, she was asked to help raise her two young cousins after their mother died. Kathleen put the needs of her family before her own dreams and moved to County Roscommon to help raise her cousins.

In 1951, Kathleen was finally able to pursue her dream of immigrating to the United States and secured a passage on a ship with only the promise of a distant cousin to meet her upon embarking at a New York City pier. As a young immigrant from Ireland with years of experience raising children, Kathleen was hired as a nanny for the children of the General Manager of the New York Times and a member of the Rothschild family. While living with the family in their Manhattan townhouse, she met many luminaries including Bess Truman.

Kathleen loved New York and her independent spirit and sense of adventure led her to pursue dancing in the many Irish dance halls that once lined East 86 Street. At one of these dance halls, Kathleen met her beloved future husband, Edmond (Eddie) Bannon, a recent Irish immigrant from County Tipperary. They wed in 1956 and left Manhattan for the Bronx to start a family and eventually settled in Queens to raise their family. Kathleen and Eddie were a balanced pair: Eddie was gregarious and a talented musician, singer and dancer; Kathleen was quiet and soft-spoken yet strong and fiercely independent.

Kathleen was a mother of remarkable energy and devotion to her three children and her husband. She was able to manage raising her three children while also working as a nurse’s aide on the midnight to 8 am shift and managing her daughter Maureen’s modeling career during the day. Kathleen was a supportive, thoughtful, generous, and loyal mother and wife who always put the needs of her family first.

After Eddie passed away in 1987, Kathleen focused her attention on the next generation of her family. She helped to raise five grandchildren, all of whom have fond memories of adventures at Nanna’s house. In the 1990s, Kathleen sold her house in Queens and returned to the Upper East Side of Manhattan where she bought her lovely Park Avenue apartment in the same neighborhood where she first started her New York City journey as a young Irish immigrant. Kathleen never gave up her independence and energy, her love and loyalty of family, and her dream of a happy and better life in America. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends.

Kathleen is survived by her children Patricia (John) Bannon Taddei of Norwalk, CT; Edmond (Catherine) Bannon of North Salem, NY; and Maureen (Kevin) Bannon of Manhattan, NY; her grandchildren John Patrick (Kathy), Christopher (Isis), Eddie, Ellen, and Michael; and her great-grandson Jack. Kathleen is predeceased by her husband, Edmond.

A funeral mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, July 18, at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas More, 65 East 89th Street, New York, NY, 10128, followed by interment at Mount Saint Mary Cemetery, 172-00 Booth Memorial Ave., Fresh Meadows, N.Y. 11365.