Kathleen Elizabeth Donavan

1953 - 2016

SUMMIT - Kathleen Elizabeth Donavan, age 63, died tranquilly, surrounded by family, the morning of Dec. 31, in her sister, Ann Eldridge's home in Summit.
She was born June 28, 1953, to the late Mary Elizabeth and Gordon Conrad Seeler and grew up in Linden. Besides an older sister, aforementioned, she leaves behind three younger brothers, William Seeler, of Summit, John Seeler, of London, England, and Gordon Seeler Jr., of Lawrenceville, Ga.
Kathleen graduated from Mother Seton Regional High School in Clark, before beginning her college degree at Stockton University and then heading to New York's Fashion Institute of Technology. As an adult and single parent working to support her family, she choose to further her studies in art and psychology at Sussex County Community College, where she also founded a Women's Center designed to help students find solace in an insecure environment. She ultimately received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from Thomas Edison State University.
She mothered three children, Rory McCrea, of Dingmans Ferry, Pa., Katie McCrea, of Sussex, and Maire McCrea, of New York, N.Y., all of whom were raised in rural Sussex County where she taught them to appreciate one of her favorite places, Swartswood State Park. She was the happy grandmother of Katie's daughters, Abbigail Elizabeth and Emily Joy. She loved her family with a fervor unlike any other and would fight for their happiness unendingly.
Kathleen was a woman fascinated by art, moved by music, and touched by stories. She never failed to uncover the good, beauty, or humor in any situation. Her love and compassion was not limited to her family; Kathleen had an intense sense of humanity and believed all lives were of equal importance. She was incredibly forgiving to people's transgressions, as she was empathetic to the hardships that drove them. She battled long and valiantly for a total of 12 years, with only short periods of remission, before succumbing to cancer this December. Her smile and infectious laugh will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing them.
A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, at Church of the Little Flower, 310 Plainfield Ave., Berkeley Heights. Her ashes will be interred at St. Mary's-Stony Hill Cemetery afterwards. Following will be a repast at her sister Ann's house.