Kathleen Houlihan Timmes passed away peacefully in Hingham, Massachusetts, while holding the hands of her children. She most recently resided at Allerton House in Hingham.
Kathleen was born in 1937, in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, to Irish immigrants Michael and Kathleen Houlihan. She attended school in St. Theresa’s parish and St. John’s University. As a young woman, she proudly worked on a high floor of the Empire State Building.
In 1959, she married the love of her life, John Timmes, and together they shared more than six magical decades. They lived in Brooklyn, Flemington, Jackson Heights, and Williston Park before settling in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, where they raised their family and lived for 25 years. Upon retirement, John and Kay fulfilled a lifelong dream by moving to a thatched-roof cottage in Athea, County Limerick, Ireland, where they spent the next 28 years.
Kay devoted herself to her five children. She was an active volunteer with the Mary Jacobs Library and the Princeton Hospital Fête, and she pursued a wide range of passions with enthusiasm and skill. She mastered the Irish language, loved gardening and sewing, and was deeply engaged in genealogy, Irish history, and antiquing. In 1976, Kay was the architect and designer of Montgomery Township’s Bicentennial Quilt, and she only regretted that she did not live to see it displayed again for the township’s upcoming semi quincentennial in 2026.
In 1988, John and Kay purchased her ancestral family home in Athea, a 200-year-old thatched-roof cottage known as The Forge. Over the course of several years, they lovingly restored it in their spare time before retiring there permanently in 1997. Kay lived out her dream in Ireland, surrounded by green fields and her beloved country garden, where she was happiest nurturing her horticultural talents and visiting with extended family and friends.
To say Kay had the Irish gift of gab would be an understatement. She was a true seanchaí—an Irish storyteller and historian. Her passing marks the loss of a remarkable repository of family history, memories, and vivid stories.
Kathleen was predeceased by her beloved husband, John, and her son, John Matthew. She is survived by her daughter Eileen Bruckman and son-in-law Barry of Merion Station, Pennsylvania; daughter Kathy Timmes and partner Matt Lawson of Alva, Florida; son Peter Timmes and daughter-in-law Jill of Ewing, New Jersey; daughter Clare Waterloo and son-in-law Steve of San Anselmo, California; and daughter Margaret Bussiere and son-in-law Paul of Hanover, Massachusetts. She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Connor, Fiona, Teagan, Isabel, Cassidy, Eileen, Luke, and Alice.
A funeral service will be held in Athea, County Limerick Ireland in the spring when the daffodils are in bloom on a date to be announced. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to:
https://familyhistory.ie/
https://milfordcarecentre.ie/donate-now/
Kathleen was born in 1937, in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, to Irish immigrants Michael and Kathleen Houlihan. She attended school in St. Theresa’s parish and St. John’s University. As a young woman, she proudly worked on a high floor of the Empire State Building.
In 1959, she married the love of her life, John Timmes, and together they shared more than six magical decades. They lived in Brooklyn, Flemington, Jackson Heights, and Williston Park before settling in Montgomery Township, New Jersey, where they raised their family and lived for 25 years. Upon retirement, John and Kay fulfilled a lifelong dream by moving to a thatched-roof cottage in Athea, County Limerick, Ireland, where they spent the next 28 years.
Kay devoted herself to her five children. She was an active volunteer with the Mary Jacobs Library and the Princeton Hospital Fête, and she pursued a wide range of passions with enthusiasm and skill. She mastered the Irish language, loved gardening and sewing, and was deeply engaged in genealogy, Irish history, and antiquing. In 1976, Kay was the architect and designer of Montgomery Township’s Bicentennial Quilt, and she only regretted that she did not live to see it displayed again for the township’s upcoming semi quincentennial in 2026.
In 1988, John and Kay purchased her ancestral family home in Athea, a 200-year-old thatched-roof cottage known as The Forge. Over the course of several years, they lovingly restored it in their spare time before retiring there permanently in 1997. Kay lived out her dream in Ireland, surrounded by green fields and her beloved country garden, where she was happiest nurturing her horticultural talents and visiting with extended family and friends.
To say Kay had the Irish gift of gab would be an understatement. She was a true seanchaí—an Irish storyteller and historian. Her passing marks the loss of a remarkable repository of family history, memories, and vivid stories.
Kathleen was predeceased by her beloved husband, John, and her son, John Matthew. She is survived by her daughter Eileen Bruckman and son-in-law Barry of Merion Station, Pennsylvania; daughter Kathy Timmes and partner Matt Lawson of Alva, Florida; son Peter Timmes and daughter-in-law Jill of Ewing, New Jersey; daughter Clare Waterloo and son-in-law Steve of San Anselmo, California; and daughter Margaret Bussiere and son-in-law Paul of Hanover, Massachusetts. She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Connor, Fiona, Teagan, Isabel, Cassidy, Eileen, Luke, and Alice.
A funeral service will be held in Athea, County Limerick Ireland in the spring when the daffodils are in bloom on a date to be announced. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to:
https://familyhistory.ie/
https://milfordcarecentre.ie/donate-now/
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Kathleen Houlihan Timmes, please visit our flower store.
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