John Bligh
- Retired teacher
Catharine Kelly taught 1st and 2nd grade at PS 158 on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for more than 30 of her 44 years as an elementary school teacher. She retired in 1995.
Catharine, 90, died on April 1, 2020, of natural causes.
Known to family and friends as Tinka, she was still greeted by former PS 158 students who met her on the street in the nearby neighborhood of Yorkville, where she lived.
Catharine’s mother, Kay Kelly, also taught at PS 158 and both women were graduates of the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx.
“Tinka was a passionate educator and extremely proud and appreciative of her membership in the UFT,” her niece Tracy Procaccini said, “and felt the union had served her very well throughout her professional life.” She was a UFT member for more than 60 years.
Before she began her public school teaching career, Catherine was employed by the U.S. Department of Defense teaching the children of armed forces families stationed abroad. She taught in England, Puerto Rico and Germany.
Catharine and her late husband, Michael, were avid worldwide travelers.
In addition to Procaccini, she is survived by nieces Christy Adams, Roseanne O’Rourke, Allison Lemanski, Karen Crici and Erin McCreary; nephews Jack Kelly and Thomas Kelly Jr.; their spouses; and 18 great-nieces and great-nephews.
