Kathleen Marie Coughlin

Kathleen "Kaem" Coughlin passed away unexpectedly on October 8, 2025, after a short valiant battle against lung cancer.
Kaem was born on October 14, 1964 to adored mother Janet (nee Jacobson) and father William Paul Coughlin, both of whom preceded her in death. She is survived by her devoted husband of 27 years Bryan Jaicks and his mother Ana, and Kaem's dearly beloved sisters Colleen (Doug) Foster and Mary Kate Coughlin, as well as treasured cousins Marie (the late Larry) Mallory and Casie (Garin) Justice. She was preceded in death by her dear brother Bill and his wife Joanie. She just adored her nieces and nephews (Kelly (Jonathan), DJ (Katey), and Colin (Sarah)), and most especially her 6 grand nieces and nephews (Jovie, JJ, Jocelyn, James, Nolan, and Liam). She loved cats, and was the mother of six in her time (Sting, Betsy, Plumpy-nut, Gracie, Rascal, and Monkey).
Kaem grew up in Westlake, OH, where she began acting and working in high school theatrical productions. She obtained her BA in theater at Denison University, and attained a master's degree in technical theater at the University of Illinois. She began college thinking of becoming an actor, but discovered she enjoyed the work behind the scenes more.
After her education, she moved to New York City to break into the entertainment world, and landed in Jersey City in the early 1990s, following several Illinois students she knew that already made the pilgrimage. It was rough, but she persevered and began getting more and more work in her field, especially as an assistant set designer and as a scenic artist. She always had an interest in cultures other than her own, and had a particular interest in African American culture, working extensively with noted set designer Felix Cochren. She spent years as a mainstay at the African-American focused Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick, NJ.
As time went on, she gravitated more toward TV and movies, and moved from jobs as scenic artist, to ones as on-set scenic artist, and finally as scenic artist in charge. She made a great boss, fair and caring but no-nonsense, and was loved by those who worked for her. Too numerous to list here, Kaem's IMDB page link below has most of her work in television and movies (please highlight the web address and right click to access IMDB):
https://m.imdb.com/name/nm2612651/?ref_=fn_all_nme_1
Kaem's work spanned other genres as well. She has painted Bert and Ernie's bedroom set on Sesame Street, worked on Wu-Tang Clan videos, and almost single-handedly painted the 20'x30' "Feet of God" that descended from above in the Monty Python play Spamalot. She was the scenic artist in charge at the shop that made the fixtures in the NBC Store in Rockefeller Center, and also the amazing set of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire".
She met Bryan when she joined the Manhattan dart team of which he was captain, at a bar called The Pour House, which two guys opened – one a Denison classmate of Kaem's, and one a friend and former coworker of Bryan's. She continued in darts after Bryan semi-retired from it, and was captain herself of a mostly female team that won all of Manhattan! She also played regional and national tournaments and broke into the top 20 ranked women nationally. She loved arcade style video games – they were her meditation. She loved cooking shows and competition TV shows, but she preferred Bryan do the cooking.
Funeral services will be held on Saturday October 25, 2025, from 1PM to 5PM at Greenville Memorial Home, 374 Danforth Avenue, Jersey City, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, please do something awesome: Kaem always supported United Scenic Artists Local 829's apprenticeship programs by hiring students, but the funding is lacking, so the program could really benefit from more money. A big boost in the program would make Kaem so happy. A perfect legacy for her.
Please make checks payable to USA Local 829 Apprenticeship & Training Fund, AND WRITE "In memory of Kaem" IN MEMO field. This is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Mail checks to:
USA Local 829 ATF
37 W 26th St, 9th floor
New York, NY 10010