1948
Katherine
2025
Katherine Anne Facchinetti
August 22, 1948 — January 5, 2025
Katherine Facchinetti Obituary
Katherine Anne (O'Connell) Facchinetti was born on August 22, 1948, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to M. Vincent O'Connell and Patricia E O'Connell. She died peacefully on January 5, 2025, of cardiopulminary complications after a stroke several days prior. Kathy was a devoted mother to her two sons, Andrew and Daniel, and loving wife to her husband of 50 years, Neil. Living in Storrs, CT since 1979, she led a life of love, caring, and support for others.
She attended Fitchburg State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in special education, and then went on to Penn State to complete a master’s degree, also in special ed. She was a special education teacher in Mansfield, CT for over 20 years, retiring in 2008. She left a legacy of helping countless children with their reading and math skills, many of whom would encounter her later in their lives and remind her of how much she had helped them. Just one example among many was the “Lunch Bunch” at the former Southeast Elementary School in Mansfield, a group she created to provide extra help to kindergartners. Her love for teaching and care for her former students endured throughout her life.
She leaves behind her husband, sons, and daughter-in-law Cricket Medbery; her sister Sheila Barry of Naples, FL; her brother and sister-in-law Vinny and Jan O’Connell of Westminster, MA; her sister Maureen O’Connell of Kittery, ME; and her sister-in-law Marcia Shissler of Princeton, NJ. She also leaves behind several nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well as a large community of friends and neighbors. Her passing is a great loss to all who knew and loved her, but she will be remembered happily for all the love she gave during her life.
The family is still planning final arrangements to celebrate Kathy’s life, and suggests a donation to the Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic, CT (covenantsoupkitchen.org).
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Katherine Anne Facchinetti, please visit our floral store.
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Katherine Anne (O'Connell) Facchinetti was born on August 22, 1948, in Fitchburg, Massachusetts to M. Vincent O'Connell and Patricia E O'Connell. She died peacefully on January 5, 2025, of cardiopulminary complications after a stroke several days prior. Kathy was a devoted mother to her two sons, Andrew and Daniel, and loving wife to her husband of 50 years, Neil. Living in Storrs, CT since 1979, she led a life of love, caring, and support for others.
She attended Fitchburg State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in special education, and then went on to Penn State to complete a master’s degree, also in special ed. She was a special education teacher in Mansfield, CT for over 20 years, retiring in 2008. She left a legacy of helping countless children with their reading and math skills, many of whom would encounter her later in their lives and remind her of how much she had helped them. Just one example among many was the “Lunch Bunch” at the former Southeast Elementary School in Mansfield, a group she created to provide extra help to kindergartners. Her love for teaching and care for her former students endured throughout her life.
She leaves behind her husband, sons, and daughter-in-law Cricket Medbery; her sister Sheila Barry of Naples, FL; her brother and sister-in-law Vinny and Jan O’Connell of Westminster, MA; her sister Maureen O’Connell of Kittery, ME; and her sister-in-law Marcia Shissler of Princeton, NJ. She also leaves behind several nieces, nephews, and cousins, as well as a large community of friends and neighbors. Her passing is a great loss to all who knew and loved her, but she will be remembered happily for all the love she gave during her life.
The family is still planning final arrangements to celebrate Kathy’s life, and suggests a donation to the Covenant Soup Kitchen in Willimantic, CT (covenantsoupkitchen.org).
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Katherine Anne Facchinetti, please visit our floral store.
Read More
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Katherine Anne Facchinetti, please visit our flower store.
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