Kitty Broman Putnam

Kitty Broman Putnam

1916-2014

Longmeadow, MA and Flagstaff, AZ – Kathryn "Kitty" Elizabeth (Flynn) Broman Putnam, 97, died peacefully at her home in Longmeadow on Jan. 5, 2014. For more than 30 years she hosted a local television show in western Massachusetts (originally called "At Home With Kitty") on WWLP-TV, Channel 22. From 1953 until 1984, Kitty interviewed thousands of local politicians, business people, school groups, sports personalities, chefs, fashion designers, authors, and visiting celebrities. Along with her third husband, William L. Putnam, she helped found WWLP, which was the first licensed UHF television station in the United States. Kitty was also known for television coverage of annual local events, including the Holyoke Saint Patrick's Day Parade, the Eastern States Exposition (the Big E), Storrowton Theater, and her own annual luncheon to raise funds for local non-profit services, notably the Western Massachusetts Mental Health Association. When she moved to Flagstaff Arizona over fifteen years ago, she lent her many talents and expertise to the Lowell Observatory where her husband William Putnam served as sole trustee.

Kitty Broman Putnam was a genuine trailblazer for women in radio and television. Her many accomplishments included being the first woman elected to the television board of the National Association of Broadcasters in 1976. She was also President of Springfield Television Corporation. As a broadcaster she won the McCall's "Golden Mike" award for special programming, and served as president of the New England Chapter of the American Women in Radio and Television. Guests on her show over the years included Senator Edward Kennedy, Conductor Arthur Fiedler, singer Robert Goulet, Massachusetts Governors Volpe, Sargent, Peabody, Dukakis and King, and painter Norman Rockwell. Kitty often told the story of interviewing a young and very soft-spoken Jacqueline Kennedy in the mid-1950s.

Well-known in Western Massachusetts for her support of local social service organizations, Kitty served as president of the Carew Hill Girls Club, president of the Valley Press Club (first woman to hold the post), president of the Springfield Public Forum, General Chairman of the Tip-Off Classic, trustee of Bay Path College, trustee of Springfield Technical Community College, and tribune of WGBY-TV, among many positions. She was also a recipient of the William Pynchon Award from the Springfield Advertising Club.

Kathryn Elizabeth Flynn was born in Pittsburgh, PA on Feb. 5, 1916 to the late Francis and Florence (Morgan) Flynn; and attended Carnegie Mellon College and the University of Pittsburgh. After attending Carnegie Mellon she married Paul Weidner. She moved to Springfield in 1942. She and her second husband Paul Broman, whom she married in 1952, were very active in the Longmeadow Players acting group. In 1999, Kitty married her long-time business partner, William L. Putnam. Following the sale of WWLP in 1984, she and Mr. Putnam purchased and operated Carroll Travel. In the last 20 years she split her time between Flagstaff, AZ, home of the Lowell Observatory, where Mr. Putnam served as the sole Trustee, and Springfield. Kitty was active right to the end of her life and took great joy in her family and friends. She loved it when people would come up to her in a store or a restaurant and say, "Kitty, I was on your show back in the 1960s!"

In addition to her parents, Kitty was predeceased by her son, P. Richard Weidner who passed away in 1993; and her former husbands, Paul Weidner and Paul Broman. She is survived by her loving husband, William L. Putnam of Flagstaff, AZ; her 3 children, Karen Talbot and her husband, David of Yonkers, NY, Morgan Broman and his wife, Amy Dale of Alexandria, VA, and Erica Broman and her husband, Christopher Millette of Longmeadow, MA; her 2 step children, Katherine Putnam and her husband, Timothy Delaney of Whately, MA and W. Lowell Putnam and his wife, Kimberly of Longmeadow, MA; her 12 grandchildren, Alexander, Meredith, Russell, Graham, Flynn, Sara, Jennifer, Eleanor, Keith, Margaret, Christopher, and Jacqueline; her 4 great-grandchildren, Amaya, Madeline, Teo, and Alix; and her brother, John Flynn and his wife, Betts of Laguna Niguel, CA. Family and friends are invited to attend visiting hours on Thursday, January 9th from 3-7PM at Forastiere Smith Funeral Home, 220 North Main St., East Longmeadow, MA. Kitty's Memorial Service will be held on Friday, January 10th at 10AM in First Church of Christ, 763 Longmeadow St., Longmeadow, MA. Memorial contributions may be made to the Lowell Observatory, 1400 West Mars Hill Rd., Flagstaff, AZ 86001. For more information please visit: www.forastierefuneralhome.com.

This obituary was prepared by the Advertising Department (928) 556-2279.