Elaine Kerrigan

1927 - 2025

Elaine Kerrigan
10/29/1927 - 10/11/2025
Elaine Ruth Kerrigan passed away peacefully at her residential home on October 11, 2025, roughly two weeks shy of her 98th birthday. Mom was born (Elaine Ruth Taylor) in Omaha, Nebraska on October 29, 1927, as the only child of Lawrence and Mildred Taylor. Her father worked for Southern Pacific Railroad, and they moved to the Marina District in San Francisco when she was ten years old. She was in one of the first classes to attend newly-constructed Marina Middle School, and then Galileo High School, where she was a star athlete in several women's sports and made many of her life-long friends. She was a beautiful young woman and was "Miss Levi Strauss" for one year of glamour (and brand representation) as a teenager. Our parents (John F. Kerrigan [Jack]) married on April 24, 1954 at Old St. Mary's Cathedral on California Street. Mom converted to Catholicism to marry dad. She has always and forever been recognized as the best Catholic in the family. The admonition on the church façade ("Son, observe the time and fly from evil") was, of course, a standing family joke for many years. Dad had a lengthy and colorful career with the San Francisco Police Department and subsequently with the California Department of Justice Western States Information Network. Elaine had a lengthy and illustrious career as a homemaker and mother of five children. She dedicated her life to quiet service as a mother and a member of the community. Each of her children (now in our 60's) also served the common good in their own individual way. Mom made that happen. She was a bright light among a very large circle of friends that circulated in the City, the Russian River (shout out to Surrey Inn people!) and beyond to Clear Lake, Lake Berryessa, and even Tahoe. She loved the sun! In an era where people did not worry about sun damage! And she lived to be 97! She is one of the last of her cohort, having out-survived almost everyone. She always gravitated to sports and had to be one of the best Giants fans in franchise history. ("Don't call mom during the Giants game.") Her interest in the Giants was a major source of happiness for her as she got older. She was a volunteer for many years at AP Gianinni Middle School. She was a contributing member of St. Brendan's Parish. And she was our mother. And we are forever thankful for that. Mom is pre-deceased by two of her children (Lawrence Michael Kerrigan and James Patrick Kerrigan [Catherine]), her husband of 49 years (Jack), and her parents (Lawrence and Mildred Taylor). She is survived by three children (John F. Kerrigan III [Jackie] of Phoenix, Arizona, Patricia von Koss [Eben] of Petaluma, California, and Paul Anthony Kerrigan [Lisa] of Belmont, California. She is survived by 13 grandchildren (now all young adults with bright futures) and (to date) four great-grandchildren.
A rosary will be held on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 at 6 PM at Duggan's Serra Mortuary, 500 Westlake Ave, Daly City. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 AM at St. Brendan's Church on Thursday, October 23, 2025, 29 Rockaway Avenue, San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Elaine's name to St. Brendan's Parish School, 940 Laguna Honda Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94127. Interment will be Friday, October 24,2025 at Holy Cross Cemetery.