Born on December 23, 1929, Kathleen was the eldest of seven children of William and Kitty Ryan. She spent most of her childhood helping her mother raise the ever expanding Ryan family. For most of her life, Kathleen lived in Astoria — a neighborhood she loved. During the late 1950’s-early 1960’s, Kathleen worked as an elevator operator for the United Nations. It was there that she met her husband George Pogue, who worked for the U.N’s security department. The couple wed in July 1962 and remained married until George’s death in 2007. During the 1970s and 1980s, Kathleen worked at Our Lady of Mount Carmel elementary school. Her favorite assignment was the lunch room where she could look after and interact with the young students at the school.
There are a number of words that aptly describe Kathleen: beautiful, vibrant, whimsical, gregarious, caring, selfless, thoughtful, doting, overprotective, devout, Catholic, Irish, daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and sister — none in any particular order. She’ll be missed, but you’ll always hear her when someone laughs with a cackle, see her when there’s a mother fussing with her child’s clothing, hear her when they play 1940s standards, or touch her whenever you light a candle in church.
Kathleen was survived by her son Kevin Pogue; her daughters Cathy Stefanik and Laura Weiss Baldasare; her grandchildren Meaghan and Brendan Pogue; and her siblings Kenneth Ryan, Patricia Becktold, Rodger Ryan, Ronald Ryan and Bernadette Beam.
If you wish to honor Kathleen, please make a donation in her memory to Catholic Charities.
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