Kathleen Cahill

Kathleen Cahill (nee Lawhead) was born the youngest of three children to Naomi (nee Scannell) and James Lawhead in Lorain, Ohio in 1940. There she had a happy and loving childhood particularly in school where her lifelong devotion to Catholic education was forged. She was Homecoming Queen and Captain of the Cheerleaders at St. Mary’s High where the nuns loved her and even tried to persuade her to join the order, but she politely declined. Instead, she continued her education at Marygrove College and began to lay down roots in Michigan - roots that would spread wider than she could possibly imagine. Kathy’s connection to Catholic education continued when she accepted a teaching position at St. Mary’s of Redford, where she met a handsome young colleague named Dan. Mr. Cahill and Miss Lawhead became an item, and soon they were married and Kathy began to realize her true dream of being a wife and mother. When Kathy’s youngest child became school aged, she realized she wanted to use her free time to give back to the Catholic community. Specifically, she wanted to share her passion for and knowledge of early childhood development to help young mothers in the parish and school community of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Beverly Hills. With the blessing of then pastor, Fr. Henry Villerot, the OLQM Early Childhood Program (ECP) was born in 1980. In those days, Catholic school enrollment was declining with several on the verge of closing. Yet, the ECP was beyond capacity, and many have said without exaggeration that it saved Our Lady Queen of Martyrs school. Today, forty years of growth and expansion later, the OLQM ECP is still going strong. Kathleen leaves behind a legacy of faith and service to her own family and to hundreds of other families and alumni in the OLQM parish. She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Dan, her daughter Kate, sons Dan (Darlene), Brendan (Melissa), and Michael (Tania), and her grandchildren Caroline, Brady, Noah, and William, who were the true joy of her later years. Kathleen is also survived by her brother James Lawhead (Barbara), late sister Leslie Castelli, brother-in-law Patrick Cahill (Leslie), sister-in-law Christine Cahill (the late Frank), numerous nieces, nephews, and godchildren, as well as so many parents, children and colleagues whom she touched over the decades and who remember her with such fondness. Finally, Kathleen was blessed to share more than a half century of laughter and love with her treasured “St. Mary’s Friends.” Kathleen lived a life of passion and purpose, and though she will be dearly missed, she has earned her eternal reward. May she rest in peace. Family will receive friends Monday, June 29, 2020 from 3-8pm with a 7pm Rosary at A.J. Desmond & Sons (Vasu, Rodgers & Connell Chapel), 32515 Woodward Ave., Royal Oak, (248) 549-0500. Funeral Mass Tuesday, June 30, 2020, 10am at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, 32340 Pierce St., Beverly Hills. Visitation begins at 9:30am. Masks must be worn at the funeral home and church. Please visit AJDesmond.com for livestreaming info. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kathleen’s memory to Our Lady Queen of Martyrs-Early Childhood Program, 32340 Pierce St., Beverly Hills, MI 48025. Make checks payable to OLQM and note “In memory of Kathleen Cahill - ECP”Sign tribute wall and view livestreaming details atAJDesmond.com