Obituary of Kathleen J. Starkey

Kathleen J. Starkey, 94, died Friday, February 24, 2017 at her West Hartford residence. She was born in Turners Falls, Massachusetts on January 6, 1923, the daughter of Francis E. Sr. and Johanna (Riley) Dolan. After being graduated from Turners Falls High School, she attended Emerson College in Boston and later received her Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the University of Connecticut. She married William B. Starkey of Hartford during World War II and thereafter settled in Connecticut and raised a family with him. Whether by nature or events, she was a restless soul, having resided in Suffield, West Hartford (five residences), Glastonbury, Essex, and Bloomfield. An adherent of the traditional Catholic Church, the wisdom of St. Augustine was not likely lost upon her: "You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." She enjoyed history, literature and poetry; always prizing her own mother's attempts at poetry, including one entitled "The Old Red Bridge" which ends: "The old must ever give way to the new, Old friends must die, old bridges too." Kathleen was pre-deceased by her husband in 1984 and by her oldest son William in 2007. Survivors include a daughter, Mary-Katelyn Hanks of Middletown, Connecticut; a son, Robert W. Starkey of Sargentville, Maine; a son, Noah H. Starkey of Manchester, Connecticut; eight grandchildren, including the youngest, Will Hanks, with whom she had a special relationship; seven great-grandchildren; together with numerous nieces and nephews. Visitation will be held at the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home, 34 Main Street in Centerbrook on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 from 5:00PM to 7:00PM. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, March 2, 2017 at 11:00AM in Our Lady of Sorrows Church, 14 Prospect Street in Essex. Burial will follow in Riverview Cemetery in Essex. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Gengras Center School, 1678 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117 or http://www.gengrascenter.org/support-us. To share a memory of Kathleen or send a condolence to her family please visit www.rwwfh.com. Arrangements by the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook