Catherine Mary Tedesco

Catherine Mary Tedesco joined the Lord on June 3 at the age of 87. The former Ridgefield, CT., resident died in her sleep in the memory care unit of Maplewood at Danbury. She was predeceased by her loving husband Paul, with whom she will be buried at the State Veterans Cemetery in Middletown, CT. 

Catherine’s remarkable American Dream took her from rural Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon Ireland, to NYC., the South Pacific, London, Paris and Rome. She was born on July 26, 1934, one of the seven children of Winifred and John Lavin. As soon as she was old enough, her parents put “Kathleen” on a ship to America. Even the rough ride in the North Atlantic couldn’t prepare her for the blaring car horns and the thunderous rush of New York subways –trappings of a new life for a wide-eyed farm girl who once gawked at cars and marveled at airplanes.

Kathleen never looked back. She joined her brother John and sister Rita in Brooklyn, where Irish roots were spreading in a thriving Catholic immigrant community. The Irish married the Italians in a common narrative told in the Saoirse Ronan film “Brooklyn.” Kathleen’s story is nearly identical, but she was even prettier than the award-winning Irish-American actress. She started out behind the counter at the famous Ebinger’s Bakery and found her way to a job with the Robert Orr Agency on Madison Avenue. On the way to a church dance, she caught the eye of a handsome naval officer candidate. Kathleen married Paul Tedesco in 1957 and spent much of their first year on Midway Island, where LTJG Tedesco was posted as a meteorology officer.

She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in the early 1960s.

Kathleen and Paul raised their four children in Tappan and Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. The couple enjoyed a vibrant social life centered on “the group.” The six couples, who knew each other from Brooklyn, alternated hosting dinner parties that went until the wee hours. In the early years, they were in Brooklyn, usually combined with sleepovers and Sunday dinner at Grandma Tedesco’s in Flatbush. Paul’s career in engineering took them to Europe for vacations that included visits back to Ireland.  

Kathleen and Paul also lived in Armonk, N.Y., for a decade before retiring to Mashpee, MA., in 1999, where they hosted family visits providing lasting summer memories for their children and grandchildren. They moved to Ridgefield in 2009.   

Kathleen is survived by her children Kevin (Miriam), Kathryn Carmody (Dan), John (Susan) and Susan Straub (Ed); a sister, Dora Muldoon (John) of Galway, Ireland; 10 grandchildren and one great grandchild. 

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, June 9, 2022 at 10:30 AM at St. Elizabeth Seton Church; 520 Ridgebury Road, Ridgefield. Interment will follow in the Connecticut State Veterans Cemetery, Middletown. There will be no calling hours. Kane Funeral Home, Ridgefield is in care of arrangements.

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