Kathryn O’Mara Birmingham Conlon “Karyn”, a former resident of Bradford, Olean, Town of Tonawanda, and Oregon City, OR, peacefully entered into eternal rest after a catastrophic stroke on May 7, 2015, surrounded by her four children and two granddaughters at her home in Oregon City.
A resident of the Portland area for 33 years, Karyn was born on September 16, 1938, in the “Wild Oil Boomtown” of Bradford, a daughter of the late William Henry and Helen (Bentley) Birmingham.
She was a graduate of St. Bernard’s High School, Bryant and Stratton, and received an honorary Master’s degree from George Washington University while working as a government contract specialist with Intel Corp.
Retirement from Intel allowed her to pursue her love of quilting, her literary prowess as editor of “The Gasleak” for The Horseless Carriage Club in Portland, and the dance floor, where after she lost her husband Jim, found joy and love again with her companion, the late Dario Raschio.
Karyn’s Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 16, 2015 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, where she was an active member and served as a volunteer for church’s historic restoration committee. She was honored with a memorial celebration attended by family from east and west and friends arriving in vintage cars and full vintage attire. Followed by a private prayer of committal service, Karyn was laid to rest, with her husband, Jim, at Willamette National Cemetery.
Karyn is survived by two daughters, Kathryn O’Mara Conlon (Dale) Cooper of Atlanta, and Teresa Marie Conlon of Virginia Beach; two sons, Timothy James Conlon of Oregon City, and Patrick Eugene Conlon (Patty Sanchez) of Oregon City. She is also survived by six grandchildren: Matthew Paul Kraatz II and Meghan Marie Kraatz of Virginia; Clarissa Marie Conlon and Ruben James Conlon of WA; Sophia O’Mara Conlon and Amanda Helena Conlon of OR; and two twin great granddaughters, Aliyah Rose and Shiya Marie Thompson of WA, one sister Kaele Flynn of Erie, and one brother Tom Birmingham of Hamburg NY. Her sister Kristine Shaw died June 1, 2015.
Local funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Hollenbeck-Cahill Funeral Homes Inc.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.hollenbeckcahill.com