Obituary of Kathleen M. Dodd
CHICAGO, IL –
Kathleen "Kay" Dodd, 95, of Chicago, IL, passed away peacefully on January 26, 2024, at her daughter Deborah’s home in Chatham, New York. She was born on May 29, 1928, in Chicago, IL, to the late Charles and Myrtle Smyth. Kay was a beloved sister, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. We will always remember her as a loving woman of integrity, warmth, and open mind.
Kay embraced life's gifts with joy and met its challenges with bravery and honesty. She was a woman of strong convictions, always choosing the path she felt was right, even when it was the road less traveled. She also loved to laugh, play with her grandchildren, and share the pleasures of life (and sharp wit) with friends and family. She was a tournament-winning golfer and a shrewd player of bridge, poker, and board games. Anyone who sat down at the card table with Kay could expect to lose some money.
An avid reader and caring listener, Kay was always interested in seeing the world from others’ points of view. In keeping with her love of learning, she dedicated 25 years of her career to teaching as a Chicago Public School Teacher for the Hearing Impaired, primarily at Medgar Evers School on Chicago's southside. She was passionate about her work and her students, and she devoted herself to supporting their talents and aspirations.
Kay was also actively involved in her community. In the 1970s, she joined efforts to support racial integration and stop red-lining in the Beverly-Morgan Park neighborhoods, and later she participated in Healing Racism Southland. After retirement she volunteered at a Women’s Crisis Hotline, at PADS to support women’s life transitions, and as an ESL tutor.
Kay's spirituality was deeply personal. While she was raised in the Catholic Church, she believed that there is a spiritual element in all our lives, regardless of faith. Her values and beliefs eventually led her to find solace and community in the Unitarian Universalist Church. It also led her to organize a south-suburban Chicago chapter of the inter-faith organization, Common Ground, alongside her husband, Bill Dodd.
Kay leaves behind a loving family, including: her sisters Patricia Harmening (Edwin) and Elaine Barry; her children Deborah Doyle, Michael Doyle (Loretta Morales), and Laura Doyle (Nicholas Bromell); her seven grandchildren Julie Doyle-Madrid (Naomi Madrid), Daniel Morales-Doyle (Alejandra Frausto), Sean Morales-Doyle (Vanessa Figueroa), Patrick Morales-Doyle (Erin McDuffie), Brendan Morales-Doyle, Sam Bromell (Claire Rosalinda Chester), and Leon Bromell; and her ten great-grandchildren, Will, Tess, Oscar, Xoaquin, Xochitl, Quetzali, Hampton, Ada, Mia, and Celine. She was predeceased by her husbands Garrett Doyle and William Dodd, and her sister Eileen Hansen.
A celebration of Kay's life will be held on the south side of Chicago in May 2024. For more information, please contact her daughter Laurie at ldoyle@umass.edu. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly suggests donations to one of the many organizations that Kay supported, including the Beverly Unitarian Church, Doctors Without Borders, and the Barak Obama Presidential Library.
Kay's legacy of love, strength, dialogue, play, wisdom, and joy will forever be carried in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared with Kay’s family, online at: SimpleChoicesCremation.com
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