Katharine Feeney

Katharine "Katy" Willard Feeney

Katharine "Katy" Willard Feeney passed away peacefully in her sleep on April 1, 2017. Katy was the loving daughter of Charles S. and Margaret Ann Feeney. Katy was inimitable: "if you knew her, no explanation is necessary. If you didn't none would suffice."

Katy was born in New York City but was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. She attended Connecticut College but transferred to U.C. Berkeley, graduating with a B.A. in 1970. She then obtained her Master's Degree from the Bank Street College of Education and started working for the County of Solano Probation Department. She returned to her birthplace of New York City in 1977 at the request of her father to help him for a short time with the transition of baseball's National League Office from San Francisco to New York.

This started an illustrious career as an executive for Major League Baseball. What began as a temporary position, evolved into a 39-year journey in the organization, culminating in her position as Senior Vice President-Scheduling and Club Relations. In the words of executive Bob Castellini, she "was a friend to every team and to every person in the game". Cared for by those she worked with, she mentored many young professionals as they began their careers. Katy was one of the first and most widely respected woman executives in baseball.

Katy had a truly giving nature. Her generosity and care of individuals in need were beyond compare, whether it was looking after her family and friends or helping out a stranger in the street. She volunteered in the early hours of every Wednesday morning before work serving breakfast to the homeless and served on the Board of Volunteer Referral Center in New York City. Katy loved her weekly tap classes and theater groups and the lifelong friends she made there. She travelled extensively and reached out to people wherever she went. She had an extended community of friends and children to whom she was Aunt Katy.

She had a special love for her siblings and their families by whom she is fondly remembered and greatly missed. She is survived by her brother Stoney, his wife Ann and her nieces Emma and Allison; her brother John, his wife Joyce, their sons Ted, Patrick and Thaddeus, his wife Jill and Katy's grand niece and nephew, Parker and Maggie; her brother Will, his wife Brenda and her nieces and nephews Jared, Camille and Claire; and her beloved sister Mary and her husband Andrew.

The family will be holding a private memorial and have a celebration of Katy's life in New York and San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, please donate on Katy's behalf to Save the Children (savethechildren.org) or Crossroads Community Services, 325 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022 (crossroadscommunitynyc.org).