Kathleen (Kathy) McGowan
Kathleen (Kathy) McGowan (1942 – 2022) was born on 6th April 1942 to Daniel and Elizabeth O’Neill in Kilkenny, Southern Ireland. Leaving school at fourteen, Kathy joined her sister Maura in Huddersfield to look for work. Her first job was at the Co-op laundry and then she secured a job at ICI as a Laboratory Technician. Kathy and Joe were married at St Patrick’s Church, Huddersfield on 28th September 1963 and had three sons, Paul, Joe and Terry. After the boys had started secondary school, Kathy worked as a home help for eighteen years. Kathy was a grandma to Caitlin, Sam and Matt and a ‘temporary’ grandma to the many children Paul and his wife Julie fostered. In 2008 Kathy visited Joe’s family in Perth, Australia. As a young girl, Kathy won medals for Irish dancing. Throughout her life, Kathy played the accordion with her family joining in the singing of Irish songs, especially her favourite, Danny Boy.
