Katherine Dunphy Quigley

1922 - 2020
Katherine Dunphy Quigley, 97, passed away peacefully in her home on August 2, 2020. She was born in Bayside, New York and graduated from Bayside High School in 1939 and Manhattanville College in 1943. When she married Martin S. Quigley on July 2, 1946, they moved to Larchmont, N.Y. where they lived for the next sixty years. Martin preceded her in death in 2011.
Katherine was the Mother of 9, Grandmother of 27, Great-Grandmother of 20 and Mother-in-Law to 9 special people. She was totally devoted to family and had an astounding ability to remember birthdays, anniversaries, special events and more, not only for her children but for her grandchildren. In addition to endless driving for car pools to accommodate her children's hectic schedules over the years, Katherine was an avid sailor and a terrific athlete. She was very active and sailed, swam and played tennis with her children and grandchildren well into her eighties. Because she was watching so many young ones in the water in the 1950s and 1960s at the Larchmont Yacht Club, she regularly made more "saves" than the lifeguards. Katherine enjoyed cruising, but also raced sailboats competitively and won the Ladies Division of Larchmont Race Week several times.
When her youngest child was in grammar school, she went back to school at Bank Street College of Education and Sarah Lawrence College and completed her Masters Degree in counseling. She spent the next 20 years working as a guidance counselor for the Board of Cooperative Educational Services in New York. She was also involved with Martin at the very beginning of the Christian Family Movement and with the Foundation for International Cooperation. She was co-chair of the first parent committee at Wesleyan University.
One of Katherine's and her husband's great passions was to get the family together so the grandchildren would know each other and the siblings would stay in touch. She planned an endless series of "reunions" – on sailboats in the British Virgin Islands, at their house and many other places - always celebrating family events. In 1986 they built a house in Palmas del Mar in Puerto Rico which became the site of many visits and adventures. Katherine spent many years going to Palmas during the winter and had many friends there.
Katherine and her husband were world travelers and inspired many in the family to do the same. They volunteered overseas and exposed all their children to travel and took great joy in visiting their family in whatever part of the world they were in. Education and life-long learning was always a priority for her. She was very generous and always tried to help those that needed it. She will be missed by us all.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Food Pantry – Town of West Hartford or Doctors Without Borders.
Funeral services will be live streamed on Friday August 7th at 10:00 a.m. Please visit www.molloyfuneralhome.com for the link.