Christy Kearney

Christy Kearney 62 years old, died at home on February 20 with her loving husband, Richard, and her daughters, Heidi and Marcy, who she cherished and respected immensely. She fought metastatic breast cancer for six years with incredible dignity, resilience, grace and a sense of humor. Christy will have a profound lasting impact on so many lives and will live forever in our hearts. Christy was an amazingly generous and caring person who had the rare ability to bring out the best in people. Her generosity was nurtured by her departed mother, Margrethe, and her strength and resilience were fostered by her living father, John. She was an extraordinary nurse who gave such compassionate and competent care to AIDS patients in underserved populations prior to life-saving drugs, to home hospice patients, and to her mother in her final years. At the end of her nursing career, Christy became a nursing instructor who was esteemed by her students for her ability to instill the importance of compassionate care. She continued to use her compassion and creativity as a frequent volunteer in Marcy's kindergarten class. The greatest love and joy of Christy's life was her family. She was thrilled that Heidi and Marcy are happily married to sensitive and supportive son-in-laws, Jaeger and Steven. She was elated to spend so much joyous time with her three grandchildren, Desmond, Delilah, and Theo during the past four years, with frequent sleepovers being the highlight. Family get-togethers and vacations, especially a trip last year to Disneyland, provided tremendous happiness and fulfillment to Christy. Her dearly loved sister, Peggy, brother-in-law, John, nephew, Conor, and niece, Marisa, were an integral part of many of these family get togethers. Christy was very proud to see the growth and maturity in Conor and Marisa. Her spirits also were raised by frequent visits from her loving cousin, Karen, including a visit only a few weeks before Christy's death. In honor of Christy's unbounded generosity, the family encourages donations to either the U'ilani Fund or Art for Recovery.