An unassuming positive force remembered at center

John Howell
Posted 11/25/14

Marion Cipolla remembers the day she casually told her sister she was having problems with her car and that she would be taking it to the garage for new brakes. It wasn’t a big deal, just one of …

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An unassuming positive force remembered at center

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Marion Cipolla remembers the day she casually told her sister she was having problems with her car and that she would be taking it to the garage for new brakes. It wasn’t a big deal, just one of those things that needed to get done. When Cipolla went to pick up the car, she learned the bill had been paid.

“I knew exactly who it was,” Cipolla said last Wednesday.

The service station vowed not to divulge her benefactor and her sister, Kathleen McNamee, never owned up to it.

That was “Kathy,” and stories of her kindness and unsolicited acts were plentiful as more than 50 family and friends gathered at the Pilgrim Senior Center to remember the center’s late director. A bench outside the center was dedicated in Kathy’s honor following a program with comments from Director of Senior Services Meg Underwood, Mayor Scott Avedisian, Kathy’s sister, Susan Greeley, and her niece, Anna Greeley. Before the start of the program, Cipolla and Greeley recalled how Kathy cared for their mother, Rose McFadden, until Rose’s death at age 102.

“She always gave,” said Greeley.

Greeley said she was surprised to learn about Kathy and what she did from a story published in Tuesday’s Beacon about the event.

“She never spoke of the work she did,” said Greeley. She said whatever was asked of her sister, “The answer was yes.”

Avedisian recalled how Kathy asked people at the senior center what they wanted to do. Out of those questions came line dancing and a variety of other programs that continue.

The mayor said Kathy was always asking, “What can we do to make it better?”

There was more to it than taking a survey. Avedisian said Kathy had a remarkable ability “in dealing [with] and touching individuals.” He said everyone who walked through the doors was special and that she looked on the center as theirs.

“I know she was loved by the seniors in this building,” he said.

Kathy died on June 10, at the age of 62.

Greeley talked about her sister’s cooking. She always made pumpkin pies for St. Michael’s Church for the holidays.

“Kathy's dedication to family and friends extended in many directions,” said Greeley. “Her friends describe her as a touchstone and although separated by time and distance continued to share life's important moments.”

“Many of you here have sampled Kathy's wonderful desserts: homemade cookies at Christmas, favorite cakes at birthdays, and her pies! Oh, her pies at Thanksgiving, which we like to think of as an expression of her own sweetness and love,” Greeley said.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Francis X. Flaherty appointed Kathy as center director. He could not make the dedication on Wednesday, but on Saturday he remembered her fondness for the center and her motherly love for those who frequented it. Kathy tirelessly promoted the bond issue for construction of the Pilgrim Senior Center.

Kathy worked for Warwick Senior Services for 23 years. She served as director from 1997 through 2009. Flaherty’s observations echoed those of her sister, Susan Greeley, who said, “Kathy had a good heart and was a kind, gentle and generous soul. She was thoughtful and gave of herself to everyone.”

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