Kathleen C. Manfredi

Kathleen C. Manfredi, 95, wife of the late Louis Manfredi, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 17, 2013, at Pendleton Rehabilitation in Mystic after a very short decline in health.
Born in Stonington, she was the daughter of the late John and Margaret Spellman. She married Louis in July 1941 and together they had five children.
Kathleen, better known as Gram to everyone, worked for years at the former Burdick's Sporting Goods store in downtown Westerly. She was an avid Matchbox car collector, a hobby she enjoyed with her youngest son, Jerry, for more than 50 years. She also thoroughly enjoyed country line dancing right through her late 80s with both surviving daughters, Kathy and Nadine. A few of her other hobbies included knitting and beading and she loved to share handmade items with family members and friends.
She was a lifelong communicant of St. Michael's Church and also a lifelong resident of the Downerville section of Pawcatuck.
Gram spent her life caring for and enjoying her extensive family. Right up until the end of her life, she never forgot a name and loved visits from her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She could always be found at the kitchen table with her cup of tea when anyone would visit. Her annual birthday party in late May was a family holiday that she joyfully looked forward to each year.
Kathleen was preceded in death by her husband, Louis; her oldest child, Sandra Johnson; siblings, Dorothy, James and John Spellman; daughter-in-law, Marie Lenihan Manfredi; and son-in-law, John Sposato. She is survived by her son, Louis "Mike" and his wife Sandy; daughter Kathleen and her husband Bob Ross; and daughter Nadine Sposato and her fiancé, Steve Sposato, all of Westerly; and her son Gerard "Jerry" and his companion, Denise Pillmear, of Pawcatuck. Her surviving siblings include Marguerite Sieczkiewicz, of Westerly; Mary Stanton, of Saugus, Mass.; and Nancy Bolduc, of Pawcatuck. Sadly, she has left behind 19 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren, five great-great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews that will miss her terribly.
Her family will receive relatives and friends from 4-7 p.m. today at Gaffney-Dolan Funeral Home, 59 Spruce St., Westerly. A Mass of Christian burial will take place on Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Mary's Church, 95 Main St., Stonington. There is no procession to the church from the funeral home. Burial will follow at St. Michael's Cemetery, Pawcatuck. For online condolences, please go to www.gaffneydolanfuneralhome.com.