Kathleen Theresa Ward Magee

Kathleen was born on May 1, 1927 in Pontiac, Mich. to Louis Burns Ward and Elizabeth Dunn. She came from a long line of Irish Catholics from County Meath, the land of the high kings of Ireland, and Dublin. She was the third of four children that included Eleanor (Mimi), John, and Neil. Her father was a World War I Army veteran, historian, biographer, author, poet, educator, lobbyist and politician who staged two U.S. Senate campaigns and wrote Father Coughlin’s biography. Her mother was a nurse and served in World War I with the Red Cross. Childhood memories were highlighted by the annual summer treks to the Adirondacks in upstate New York where the family owned a three story cottage, named Dun Ward. Kathleen cherished the memories of her summers with family at the cottage on Star Lake throughout her life. Her mom passed away when Kathleen was 13 years old and her dad followed just two years later. No one could ever match her tenacity and loyalty in sharing their story and the tales of her storied childhood. Not a day passed that she didn’t tell some story about her parents, siblings or Star Lake. After her mother died, Kathleen and her brother Neil moved to Port Henry, N.Y. with Aunt Marge. After high school she attended Albany Business College and then the all-women’s Catholic school, Marygrove College in Detroit where she earned a history degree. After graduation, she began teaching in the Detroit Public Schools and in 1953 she took a sabbatical where she taught American children in post-World War II Japan. Her principal wanted the very best from her teachers from Monday through Friday but she didn’t want to see them on the weekends, instead they were to explore Japan. Among other activities, she travelled to Bangkok and Hong Kong; she met Mickey Rooney; and she climbed Japan’s highest peak, Mount Fuji. Before going to Japan she met Charles Brian Magee in 1951. Brian called Kathleen and their first date was epic — starting at 2 p.m. at Pat Flower’s Piano Bar, continuing through the evening and ending at 2 a.m. Brian, who was working on his PhD at Purdue University, put Kathleen on the train to Japan. When she returned from Japan, Kathleen’s and Brian’s romance resumed with her taking many trips from Detroit to West Lafayette, IN. One time she brought the Thanksgiving turkey with her; other trips were to watch the Purdue football games. On Christmas Eve 1954, Brian proposed and they were married on July 16, 1955. They honeymooned in the Bahamas where they enjoyed walks along the moonlit beach. Brian was hired by General Electric in Cincinnati, Ohio so they packed and moved and here their first son, Robert Marion III was born. The next year in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Colleen Margaret was born. Back in Cincinnati, Brian Michael was born the following year. Next stop was Deerfield, Ill. where Christopher John was born. Brian joined the faculty at University of Denver and the family moved to Littleton, Colo. in 1961. They put down deep roots here and raised their family. Three more children were born in Colorado, James Patrick, Patrick Andrew, and Mary Caitlin. Despite all the demands of raising a family, Kathleen was back in the classroom earning her Master’s degree in Special Education in 1968 from University of Denver. In Littleton, the two story Bemis house was pretty crammed with nine family members but the back door, called the Dutch door, was the front door and it was always open to neighbors, friends, and relatives. The home was a gathering place for many and Kathleen’s generosity of spirit was always present. Kathleen loved flowers and gardening and began her crusade of cutting away the lawn to make room for flowers. Later she became an inaugural volunteer for Hudson Gardens and weekly would spend hours weeding and planting the new botanic gardens. Kathleen loved hiking and wildflowers and took her children on many of the trails in Rocky Mountain National Park. Her love of hiking led her to join the Colorado Mountain Club and she regularly participated in many outings along the Front Range with the younger children and later she travelled with CMC on their summer weeklong camp outs and eventually to Alaska, Scotland, and Norway. Her love of nature and recreating in it was passed down to all of her children. The family spent summer vacations touring the western U.S. in a VW bus camping in national parks in the mountains, deserts and along ocean coasts. In 1965, Kathleen won a raffle at Lemke’s Meat Market on Littleton’s Main Street and she spent her winnings on a large, ten-man canvas tent that served as the family’s summer quarters on many trips throughout the Rockies and all the way to Lake Michigan and Carpinteria beach in California. Kathleen was a great camp cook and her favorite meal was fish. While Brian was out fly fishing with very little luck, she was chatting with bait fishing Texan camp neighbors and usually had several trout in the frying pan when Brian returned to camp. At home Kathleen raised her seven children and continued her own career as a teacher. In the early years Mrs. Stone was the indispensable babysitter. Kathleen instilled cooperation and work ethic in her family. Each child, no matter how old they were, helped out with chores. There were seven jobs, no one was a freeloader. Kathleen created traditions for her family. Every holiday was a big deal. Every birthday was celebrated in a meaningful way. At Christmas she started the tradition of making the famous Magee fudge that was delivered to all the neighbors and teachers for years, a half century tradition that continues to this day. Every Sunday the family gathered around the dining room table for a special feast and storytelling. Kathleen was a devoted Catholic her entire life. She was an active parishioner for over 50 years at Saint Mary Catholic Church in Littleton where among other things she joined several trips to the Holy Land (Israel and Egypt), Rome and the Vatican, Greece, Germany and Ireland. Kathleen taught in the Littleton Public Schools from 1969 to 1983 focusing on elementary reading and special education. After Brian passed away in 1983, Kathleen worked for the Air Force and then the Department of Education before retiring in 1993. In retirement she volunteered at Damon Runyon Elementary School working in the third grade for many years. She had a variety of causes and affiliations including 4-H, the Meadowbrook Homemakers Club, the Colorado Mountain Club, Saint Mary’s, Bemis Library, the Denver Zoo, Museum and Botanical Gardens, and Hudson Gardens, among others. She loved reading and belonged to book clubs at Saint Mary’s and the Bemis Library. Kathleen dwelled in Littleton for 55 years in a neighborhood enriched by many wonderful families that were caring friends. Kathleen moved to Gunnison in 2015 and for the last year she lived at the Gunnison Valley Health Senior Care Center with a compassionate, wonderful, and attentive staff . This hard-working, generous, resilient, nature-loving, adventurous woman died on June 11, 2017 in Gunnison. She was deeply proud of her seven children and their spouses as well as her 18 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren (with one more on the way), all of whom are blessed to be part of her legacy. A funeral mass was held at Saint Mary Catholic Church on Monday, June 19 and she was buried in the Littleton Cemetery.