Katherine Flora O'Connell

1968 - 2022

Katherine Flora O'Connell

Amherst, MA — Katherine Flora O'Connell, 54, died in an accident on October 4, 2022, while on vacation in France with her husband.

Born in Jackson, Michigan, on February 14, 1968, to Campbell and Frances Laird, Kate grew up in Radnor, Pennsylvania, the eldest of three siblings. From a young age, Kate displayed an intense eagerness to learn and excelled academically. She graduated from Conestoga High School as valedictorian and went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania as a Benjamin Franklin scholar. At Penn, she majored in English literature and art history, joined the Penn Poets Society, studied abroad at the University of Edinburgh, and was elected Phi Beta Kappa as a junior. Upon graduating summa cum laude, Kate received the additional honor of carrying the English department's flag at the graduation ceremony because she was the top in her class of English majors.

A devoted equestrienne, Kate rode at Ashford Farm in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, in the early 1990s before she headed off to graduate school. She met her future husband, Killian, at the barn and became enamored of him during the long trail rides they took together; the two embarked on a long-distance relationship and racked up many frequent flier miles as Kate pursued her doctorate at the University of Michigan while Killian completed his psychiatry residency in Philadelphia. They got married, Kate became pregnant with their first child, and they lived briefly in Ohio before eventually settling down in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Though shy and introverted as a child and young adult, Kate bloomed in her marriage to the gregarious Killian and as a mother to Rory, Julia, and Jane. She applied the same indomitable spirit to raising a family as she did in any academic endeavor, cultivating a trio of bright and capable children, running the household effortlessly—complete with endless delicious meals—and supporting her husband so he could support his patients.

She could be found outdoors in all kinds of weather: swimming in the summer, cross-country skiing in the winter, and hiking and walking with her dogs year-round. Kate delighted in seeing her environment transform with the seasons—the emergence of lady's slippers and peepers in the spring, the whirring of cicadas in late summer, the appearance of an unusual songbird along the bike path she walked every day, hoarfrost-covered trees in winter. In her garden, she cultivated a diverse and seemingly never-ending collection of dahlias. She loved the many charms of living in a small New England town.

Kate deeply connected with animals, from her childhood cat, Emma, to her many border collies over the years. She recognized their complexity and intelligence and enjoyed their many quirks, and through patience and perseverance trained the family's too-smart-for-their-own-good dogs. She fell in love with horseback riding as a teenager, relishing the simplicity of communication with her horse and the routines of caring for the animal. After moving to Amherst, Kate became involved in the local horse scene—riding at the UMass community outreach program and eventually discovering Muddy Brook Farm, which would become her second home. She doted on her horse, Maddie, and spent countless hours grooming, caring for, and riding her.

From the age of three onward, Kate was regularly experimenting in the kitchen, and in her childhood she tried—and quickly excelled at—baking every kind of dessert imaginable, from the humblest oatmeal cookie to the loftiest chocolate soufflé. Throughout Kate's life, her exquisite taste and drive for perfection resulted in her revamping existing recipes as well as inventing her own. Her stained cookbooks are peppered with neatly handwritten notes: alternate toppings, additions of brandy or lemon zest, different baking times or oven temperatures. Everyone knew about her cooking expertise, and many sought her advice or begged her for the recipe of a particularly tasty dish they'd had the good fortune of trying. Her cooking was so popular that arguments could erupt when there wasn't enough of her food to go around! Holidays prompted a spectacular display of her abilities; she would spend days shopping for and preparing an impressive and well-balanced array of dishes. A locavore before it was fashionable, Kate reveled in finding and using high-quality local ingredients. And she poured the love she felt for her family into her cooking.

Throughout her life, Kate was an avid reader and learner. She applied her intelligence to everything she did and was constantly expanding her understanding of the world. She took pleasure in reading a wide variety of books, listening to podcasts and radio programs, going to art museums, and solving crossword puzzles; her most recent obsession was the New York Times Spelling Bee.

Kate is survived by her husband of 28 years, Killian O'Connell; her son, Rory O'Connell; her two daughters, Julia and Jane O'Connell; her parents, Frances and Campbell Laird; her sister, Lucy Laird; her brother, Andrew Laird; her nieces and nephew; her horse, Maddie; and her border collies, Annie and Geordie. Kate's life will be celebrated on Friday, October 28, at 1 p.m. at South Church Amherst. Memorial contributions can be made in her honor to The Nature Conservancy, Kestrel Land Trust, and MASSPIRG. Memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com