Obituary: Remembering Kathy O’Sullivan
PREPARED BY THE O’SULLIVAN FAMILY
Kathy O’Sullivan of Port Jefferson, a longtime writer and contributor to Times Beacon Record Newspapers, passed away April 19 after a life well lived. For the past eight years, Alzheimer’s slowly took over her body, consuming her memories one by one, but never diminishing her spirit. Until her last breath she still retained her marvelous sparkle and familiar, irrepressible sweetness.
Born Kathleen Allen in 1936, she spent her early years traveling the globe with her family. As a child in Burma, she lived among elephants and golden pagodas. Some of the last memories she held onto were of hiding in a drain ditch when the Japanese bombed Rangoon. Despite, or perhaps because of growing up in a land torn by war, Kathy had an uncommonly optimistic view of any situation. Every hardship she met in life was approached like a joyful game. She could find reason to smile in any challenge, and her enthusiasm was contagious.
Kathy wandered wide-eyed from country to country wearing many different hats. She attended Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris and traveled the world sharing her culinary genius with countless dignitaries. She could always be counted on to surprise you with anecdotes of random princes and movie stars she knew. She lived in Gandhi’s India, spent years in Europe becoming fluent in foreign languages, traveled the Silk Road through Central Asia and even approached a trip to the grocery store with a sense of worldly wonder.
As a journalist, Kathy delighted in writing profiles on ordinary people she encountered. It was her belief that any person you meet had at least one fascinating story to tell, and Kathy was determined to find it. She loved to ride in cabs and interview the drivers, or turn to the person next in line in a store and unearth some captivating piece of information from them. If you asked her how her day went, she never said, “Oh, fine.” She would always answer with some variation of “I just met the most fascinating person!”
A voracious learner, Kathy had a constant tower of books beside her bed. She could be counted on to give informed and nuanced opinions on a vast array of topics and maintained an uncommonly open mind to keep learning. Not only was she an encyclopedia of history and philosophy, but she gave the most insightful and comforting advice. The phone was always ringing from people who wanted her wisdom.
Her life was a kaleidoscope of the people she met, and it never ceased to give her joy. Her children joked that you never knew you would come home to Mom having tea with — it might be a festooned Maasia warrior, a Shaolin monk, a Harlem Globetrotter or the cashier from 7-Eleven.
For over 50 years, Kathy made Port Jefferson her home with her husband Desmond. Though her adventures never stopped, she lovingly raised her three kids and filled the house with a constant stream of international travelers.
Kathy spent her later decades devoted to the village of Port Jefferson. She was involved in the Dickens Festival, as well as the creation of Harborfront Park and the construction of the Bayles Boat Shop. There was rarely a day that she was not fluttering about, tirelessly attending meetings, baking brownies, writing grants and weaving people together in service of her town.
As a passionate marine conservationist, Kathy organized beach cleanups and environmental education classes. Her passion project was to work with Coastal Steward Long Island to restore the oyster population in Mount Sinai Harbor. If you are ever walking on the beach there and find an oyster shell in the sand, that is one of her babies.
She was never the sort of person who craved applause or recognition. There are no buildings with her name on them or tales of her in the history books. But in a hundred years there will be oyster shells on the beach, and knowing Kathy, that would be the most satisfying legacy she could hope for.
Kathy is survived by her husband Desmond; her children John, Desmond and Kaitlin; big sister Winnie; brother David; as well as two grandchildren, Maggie and T.J.
There will be a celebration of her life July 27 at 4 p.m. at the Port Jeff Village Center. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers or any sort of donation, the best way to honor Kathy would be to smile at a stranger, maybe talk to them and find out something fascinating.
