Jean Kilcoyne McSharry

Jean was born on January 22, 1929, in Bethel, Connecticut, to the late William Walter and Alice (Rothkam) Kilcoyne, the second of their five children (all of whom predeceased her). She was raised in Stamford, Connecticut, graduated from Sacred Heart Academy, and earned a bachelor’s degree at the College of New Rochelle in 1950. In November of that year, Jean married John Thomas McSharry and they soon settled in Riverside, Connecticut, enjoying 61 years of marriage before John’s passing in 2011 at age 96. Together they raised their family of seven children along with Jean’s young sister Anne, who joined the household after the passing of their mother in 1954. Jean’s father later married Llewellyn Bernhard Ryan, a widow with seven children of her own. The Kilcoyne and Ryan families blended harmoniously and celebrated many life occasions together.

Through the decades of the mid-20th century, Jean embraced the joys and challenges of caring for their growing family. She enjoyed backyard gatherings with neighborhood families, summer outings to Tod’s Point, Rye Playland, and Jones Beach—loading up the station wagon and packing the Skotch Kooler with sandwiches, snacks, and beverages for a day at the beach with a small army of children. She loved the beauty of New England fall foliage and yearned to visit the cherry blossoms in Washington, DC, at peak bloom. A talented artist whose creative spirit expressed itself in many forms, Jean enjoyed working with dollhouse miniatures, dried floral arranging, needlepointing, tending African violets and gardening, and putting together fabulous children’s parties and family holiday gatherings. As the children grew and their day-to-day needs became less consuming, Jean sought an outlet outside the home, taking a job at the classic Greenwich sportswear and sporting goods shop, Outdoor Traders, where she made several good friends among her colleagues there. She was an avid reader, maintaining a subscription to The New Yorker magazine throughout her life (striving valiantly to keep up with it!), and always opted for a good book over television.

Although not an active member of the church, Jean donated to Catholic Charities and held a firm belief in the tenets of Catholicism, having great faith in Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. She had St. Anthony (patron saint of lost things) on speed-dial! Jean participated in service opportunities through the church and community, including hosting young visitors from Harlem, New York, through Ned O’Gorman’s Storefront School and the Fresh Air Fund. Jean generously supported friends in need, always extending a hand even while struggling with her own health challenges.

Jean is survived by her children and their spouses and partners: Timothy McSharry and Terry Wong, Jean-ellen McSharry and Christopher Woerner, Matthew and Holly Izant McSharry, Margaret McSharry, Maureen McSharry and David Lewis, Hugh McSharry and Carole Lohr, and Aileen and Casey Marsh; and by her sister Anne’s family, brother-in-law Patrick McGrath and dearest niece Moriah McSharry McGrath.

Thirteen beloved grandchildren and one great grandchild bid her fond farewell: Phoebe and Robin Woerner; Hale, Meghan, Peyton, and Finn McSharry; Conrad and Ian Lewis; Aidan, Jack, and Sydney McSharry; Barrett and Claire Marsh; and great grandchild, Odell Woerner Heiple.

Jean was lovingly assisted later in life by Judith Bowden, Karen Gordon, and Natalya Korzhenevic. She was well cared for by the staff at the Nathaniel Witherell, where she resided for eight years.

A memorial Mass will be held in the chapel at St. Catherine of Siena and St. Agnes Church in Riverside, Connecticut, at 11:00am on Friday, October 27th, 2023.