Kathleen Margaret O’Keefe Dies December 12

Kathleen Margaret O’Keefe passed away peacefully at her home in East Moriches on December 12, 2020. She was 80.

Kathleen was born in Olean, New York on January 29, 1940. Her mother Margaret Keefe was an English teacher at Olean High School. Her father Dr. Francis P. Keefe was a well-known surgeon and family physician in the town.

After graduating from high school, Kathleen entered Trinity College in Washington, D.C. where she majored in English. She loved Washington, and after graduating from Trinity in 1961 she worked at the National Archives and lived in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. During that time she met a United States Navy officer, Casimir Patrick, and they married in 1962.

Kathy and Cas first lived in Washington, but then moved to Brooklyn and later to Port Washington, New York, where they raised their family - two sons and a daughter. Kathleen was a stay-at-home mother, but she was active in parent-teacher organizations throughout her children’s school years. She also earned a master’s degree in education from Long Island University and worked as a substitute teacher.

Kathleen later divorced and moved to Westhampton Beach, which she considered her true home. She was an active member 
of the Westhampton Garden Club and the Westhampton Woman’s Club. In the 1990’s, she bought and renovated a house on Sunset Avenue, turning it into the independent O’Keefe’s Bookstore. She loved reading, running her own business, and chatting with customers about books.

Kathleen had many other interests, including gardening, bridge, listening to ‘50s rock and roll, doing various styles of needlework, painting, travel, and spending time with her grandchildren. Kathleen’s Catholic faith was also important to her. She attended the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Westhampton Beach every morning at eight o’clock for as long as she could. After church she often went to Eckart’s Luncheonette, where she loved to sit at the counter and talk with everyone. She was also a frequent customer of the Beach Bakery. Her most passionate interest, though, was the beach. Kathleen went to the beach every day that she could, usually spending most of the day there soaking up the sun.

In her last years, Kathleen lived in East Moriches. She is survived by her son Casimir Patrick of Bresso, Italy; her son Michael Patrick of East Moriches; and her daughter Margaret Patrick of Briarcliff Manor, as well as four grandchildren - Jackson, Isabel, James, and Liam - and daughter-in-law Valentina Oriani Patrick. She was loved for her beauty, her style, her sense of humor, and her passion for her family, music, art, literature, and life. She will be deeply missed.