Barabra Kavanaugh

Sister Barbara Kavanaugh (formerly Sr. Barbara Ann)
August 10, 1929 - October 18, 2025
We remember with gratitude the life of Sister Barbara Kavanaugh who was a Sister of Notre Dame for 76 years. At the age of 96, she died peacefully at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, CA, after a short illness.
Sister Barbara entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1947 after graduating from Notre Dame High School, San Francisco. A beloved elementary teacher and principal for 33 years, she served in schools in Salinas, San Carlos, Belmont, Folsom, Saratoga, San Francisco, Redwood City, Santa Clara, and Watsonville, CA, and Des Moines and Seahurst, WA.
In 1984, she was asked to join the province staff in Belmont in a position in support of the Sisters' resources. She was not expecting to be involved in finance, but it proved to be a perfect fit. She was very competent and organized and responsive to Sisters' needs. She said, "My new mission reflected a need to honor the past, respect the present, and hope for the future. In teaching, I felt I was protecting young lives; in finance, I am protecting older lives through care of our resources." In 1985 she became Associate Director of Finance, and also coordinated cash management services for the Mt. Alverno Sisters of St. Francis. Retiring in 2022 after 38 years of ministry in the area of finance, Barbara moved to the Province Center in Belmont and later to Ivy Park Belmont.
For years, even in retirement, she enjoyed her service as moderator of the Notre Dame High School San Francisco Alumnae Association. She relished her relationships with classmates and other graduates who shared a deep love for their Alma Mater. She also resumed tap dancing as she had taken lessons when she was young. As she noted, "Life is a dance, and God was calling me to dance, but it took quite a while to figure that out!"
Daughter of James and Kathryn Kavanaugh and sister of Harry and Jim Kavanaugh (all deceased), she is lovingly remembered by her large family, friends, former students, and Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
A Funeral Mass will be celebrated for Sister Barbara at 11:00 am on Tuesday, November 18 in the Chapel at the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur Province Center, 1520 Ralston Avenue, in Belmont, California. The burial will be held at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma at 2:30pm on Tuesday, November 18.
Contributions in Sister Barbara's Memory : For those who would like to make a donation to the Kavanaugh Family Memorial Scholarship, checks can be made payable to: Kavanaugh Family Memorial Scholarship, Notre Dame High School Belmont
Attn: David Gilreath 1540 Ralston Ave Belmont CA 94002 or to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, 1520 Ralston Ave, Belmont, CA 94002 or online at snddeneastwest.org. Further information about her life can be found at https://snddenwest.org/barbara-kavanaugh/.