OBITUARY Kathleen M Dowling July 9, 1946 – September 26, 2018 Kathleen M. (nee Kearney) Dowling, editorial researcher and grandmother Age 72, beloved partner, mother, grandmother and aunt, died suddenly of respiratory failure on September 26, 2018, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City. She was born July 9, 1946, in The Bronx, NY, daughter of William T. Kearney III and Mary (nee Sweeney) Kearney. She has lived in The Bronx, Yonkers, Buffalo and the New York City boroughs of Queens, Manhattan and most recently in Brooklyn (Park Slope South).
She retired as editorial researcher from Time Magazine’s Research Center, and prior to that had worked at Newsweek, NBC News and WNET Channel 13. Ms. Dowling graduated from Preston High School in Throggs Neck, The Bronx, and received a BA in in the first class at Fordham University that accepted women. She also earned a Masters in Library Sciences at SUNY Buffalo, where she also taught the first generation of Women’s Studies in the early 1970s.
She subsequently worked in university libraries at D’Youville College (Buffalo) and Fordham University (The Bronx). Kathleen met her husband, John R. Osborn at the advertising agency BBDO, where she rose to Vice President and Director of the Information Research Center. On retiring from Time Magazine, she opened her talents to creative writing, producing many pieces drawing from her life experiences in the Brooklyn writer’s workshop led by Rosemary Moore.
She loved crosswords, good movies and women’s basketball, particularly her New York Liberty. Over her life, she had a near perfect memory of song lyrics written between 1920 (Irving Berlin) and 1969 (The Beatles). She loved swimming, and even this summer could be seen doing Aqua Boot Camp at the Brooklyn 9th Street Y, followed by coffee with neighborhood friends.
Her greatest love, however, was being a mother, grandmother and aunt. Her penchant for song lyrics provided many a lullaby for little ones as they drifted off to sleep. She is survived by her husband of 31 years, John R. Osborn (married April 26, 1987); daughters Clare M. (Dowling) Dougherty of Washington, DC (David) and Jill E. Dowling of Brooklyn, NY (Zeno Wood); as well as grandchildren, Brendan L. Dougherty, William T. Dougherty of D.C. and Clio Dowling Wood of Brooklyn; and her sister, Rosemary Hertl (Tony) of Ocean NJ.
She had previously developed her grand-parenting and song-singing skills with her beloved nephew Kevin Hertl and dear nieces & nephews Katie E. Osborn, Mary Beth Osborn, John C. Osborn, Therese Osborn, William Fogarty, Grace Osborn and Maia Osborn. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to The Brooklyn Public Library (Cortelyou branch), The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture (in honor of Kathleen Dowling) or Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital, patient free care fund, in Kathleen Dowling’s name.
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