Kathleen Conboy Dougherty
Kathleen Conboy Dougherty died at St. Crispin Living Community, Red Wing, Minn., on April 15, 2020, after a brief illness. She was born in Volga City, the daughter of John (Jack) Conboy and Anna Samp Conboy on July 6, 1923. At the age of 11, they moved to Strawberry Point, and she graduated from that high school in 1940.
She attended the Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) for two years, and then taught elementary grades in Greely and in Anamosa from 1945 to 1949. She married Neal Dougherty in 1948. They had a son, James, in 1949 and a daughter, Marybess, in 1951. She was a “stay-at-home mom” until 1956 when she resumed teaching fourth grade. After obtaining a B.A. degree at the University of Iowa at the age of 40, she started the junior high library and eventually became the high school librarian, a position she held for 20 years. Active in the community, she particularly enjoyed the time she spent performing with the Starlighters community theater.
She was preceded in death by her husband, two infant sisters and her sister Myrtle (Norb) Niemeyer of Elkader. She is survived by her son, James, his wife, Cam, and her daughter Marybess (John Goeppinger); three grandchildren, four great-grandchildren; and several much-loved nieces and nephews.
She was interred on April 22, at Holy Cross Cemetery, Anamosa, in the presence of her children and their spouses. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Anamosa Library and Learning Center, St. Patrick’s Church or to a charity of your choice.
