Marion A. Flaherty passed away on Sept. 21, 2026 at the age of 86.
Born in New York City to the late Alice and James Kilroy, Marion was raised in the Inwood section of Manhattan. She attended the Good Shepherd School and Academy of the Sacred Heart of Mary. Following high school, she attended the Jersey City Medical Center School of Nursing, where she graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1961.
Upon graduating, Marion remained at the Medical Center employed as an RN. In the years that followed, her career included working in the Medical Department within Rockefeller Center in New York City. When Marion married and started her family, her career pivoted to private duty nursing and teaching. Her varied experience served her especially well at home, where her children quickly learned that trying to bluff their way out of a school project or test with a mysterious symptom or sudden ailment was unlikely to fool her.
Marion found happiness in life’s simple joys. She loved to read, watch crime and detective shows, and listen to her cherished Irish music. Sundays often found her tapping her feet and singing along to the Ceol na nGael (“Music of the Irish”) program from Fordham University’s WFUV.
She never met a stranger. It was nearly impossible to go anywhere with her without running into someone she knew—an old friend from the neighborhood, someone she had worked with years before, or a new friend she had made somewhere along the way. Marion had a genuine interest in people and a gift for making connections wherever she went. And then there was her laugh: joyful, contagious, and wonderfully loud.
Above all, Marion’s life was centered around the people she loved and cared for. Marion will be remembered for her devotion to her Catholic faith, family, friends, Irish heritage, and the unmistakable way she made her presence known.
She leaves behind a loving family profoundly grateful for the years they shared with her and for the many stories, traditions, and memories that will keep her close in their hearts and minds in the years ahead.
She is survived by Dennis J. Flaherty, her husband of 54 years; her children, Mary Alice Flaherty, James Joseph Flaherty, Patricia Ann Flaherty, and Jean Marie Mitchell; her son-in-law, Andrew Mitchell; and her beloved grandchildren, Robert, Dennis, Molly, and Maeve. She is also survived by her sister, Kathleen Taylor (Richie); her sisters-in-law, Gail Cornacchia (Ray), Sr. Arlene Flaherty, OP, Katie Flaherty, Mary Flaherty, Victoria Flaherty, and Patricia Kilroy; as well as many nieces and nephews and their children.
Marion was preceded in death by her brothers, John and James Kilroy; John’s wife, Jeanie Kilroy; and her brothers-in-law, Vincent, Thomas, and Brian Flaherty.
