Kathryn "Kitty" Mary Leary

Born and raised Kathryn “Kitty” Malone by Frank and Evelyn Malone in Oradell, NJ. Grandpa Malone was a civil engineer where he developed ways to produce iron to build things like large locomotives and the such. Mom was an only child and had a very good upbringing by my grandparents in Oradell.

Kitty attended St. Cecelia High School in Englewood NJ where she was co-captain of the cheerleading squad for the football team. This is where she met my dad Bill Grossman the fullback for the football team that played for the great coach Vince Lombardi.

Mom and Dad married right after high school and bought a Sears and Roebuck kit home, the “Westley” design, on Glen Road in Woodcliff Lake NJ when I was born. FYI I was born 9 months to almost to the day the day my parents were married, huh? It was idyllic growing up on Glen Road with the Glen across the street with trout, turtles, snakes and all other types of wildlife living in the Glen. Behind our house was miles of woods all the way to Woodcliff Lake Avenue.

Mom gave birth to six hard to raise Grossman kids as many of you know us; Bill, Anne, Mary, Ed, Frank and Matt. Not only that mom helped raise three of my deceased sister Mary’s kids. Glen Road was quite the place. Mom has sixteen Grandkids and fifteen Great Grandkids.

During raising all of these kids mom managed to graduate nursing school. She worked many years at Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood. There are many stories of my friends and my siblings friends being treated by Nurse Kitty at PVH including myself (a concussion playing football). I remember mom would do a shift once in awhile on the seventh floor of Bergen Pines Hospital where the mentally disabled patients were hospitalized. Sometimes she would come home from work really tired and I would ask her what is wrong mom? She would say I spent the day wrestling with patients. Later in her career she even worked part time as the sub for the nurse at Woodcliff Lake Elementary school.

Not long after my parents decided to separate, mom met Jack Leary at her fifty year high school reunion. Jack had always had an eye for mom in high school and the timing was perfect. Jack’s wife had just passed away. So mom sold the house on Glen Road and moved to the desert near Palm Springs. They did a lot of traveling and lived a very comfortable country club lifestyle until Jack’s passing.

This where I had the privilege to care for my mother in her final years of her life in my home in Northern California. Mom and I would reminisce about Woodcliff Lake and all of the people in our lives growing up constantly. It was very special. There are things a mother teaches you. The first and foremost thing mom did for me was to raise me as a good Catholic boy. I knew God was always with me and if I did good things, good things would come to me. God bless you mom. Secondly mom got me a job as a paperboy delivering papers to my neighbors at age nine. Mom opened a joint bank account for me at age twelve. These are simple lessons in life but so important when learned at an early age. Thank you mom. But lastly and by far not the least, mom took me ice skating at age four on the frozen Wood Dale pond in Hillsdale. She would pick me up out of bed at six am in the morning to go play hockey at Fritz Dietl Ice Skating rink in Westwood to play hockey at age nine. As many of you know hockey is still my passion today. Thank you so much mom!

Every night when I would help mom to bed, I would tuck her into bed and say…

Sleep well, Amen, Love you Mom