PORT HENRY — Kathleen Shea Brooks, 86, died Friday, Nov. 16, at Horace Nye Nursing Home in Elizabethtown.
She was predeceased by parents, John Edward Shea and Elizabeth Batterton Shea; and siblings, Thomas and Dorothy Shea, Mary Carmel Aitner and Elizabeth Catanzarita.
A lifelong resident of Port Henry, Kathleen accelerated her graduation from Port Henry High School in order to enlist in the U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps in 1944 to join the war effort in WW II.
She attended nursing school at Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital and earned her M.S. From Plattsburgh State. She worked as an RN at Moses Ludington and Mineville Hospitals, industrial nurse at Ti Mill, school nurse at Moriah Central, 3rd grade teacher at St. Patricks School in Port
Henry, and librarian at Sherman Free Library in Port Henry. She enjoyed everything outdoors -walking, cycling, snowshoeing, canoeing, birds, flowers, trees, weeds, you name it. When stuck indoors, she liked reading and spending time with her grandchildren. Her hobby was interviewing local residents for her oral history collection.
She is survived by her sons, Charles and Thomas; and daughters Elizabeth McNulty and Teresa McIntosh; plus a passel of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
The family expresses their gratitude to the staff at Horace Nye for their kind care during her stay. And we give special thanks to Michelle Woods and Marilyn Potter for the loving kindness of their home care. They were her best friends, cheerleaders, entertainers and caregivers during her last years at home. Because of them, she smiled every day.
Services will be private.
