A significant amount of kindness and light went out of the world on January 27 when Carol Mary Kahny passed from it, leaving it a little colder and darker, but vastly better for her having been here.
Carol was born September 30, 1935 in Princeton, NJ, to Harry J. and Mary A. (O’Kane) Kahny. She was the fifth of six sisters, Helen, Margaret, Rosemary, Jean, and Mary Louise, each of whom preceded her in death.
She is survived by 20 nieces and nephews and their many children, all of whom she treasured and doted upon.
Slight of body but large of heart, Carol had a calm, generous, easy-going personality and a thoughtfulness that everyone who interacted with her experienced and benefited from. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Trenton State Teachers College, specializing in Kindergarten-Primary grades, and taught in Lawrence Township. She received her Master of Science from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, and continued to teach in the Syracuse City School District, notably developing and running a ground-breaking program for children with special needs, as well as managing an after-school drama program for all ages. Everything she undertook when working with others was always done with patience and humor.
If there is anything that could accurately showcase the selfless, beautiful soul that was Carol Kahny, it is the role of caretaker she calmly and easily undertook for every member of her family, from her grandmother to her parents to her sisters. The Kahny family was a significant part of early twentieth-century Princeton — Carol’s father was a city engineer who insisted his six daughters would each attend college, and each of them did, most of them to the Master level, including Carol. Over the years, as her parents, followed by her sisters, began to succumb to illness, Carol was their steadfast protector, even as her own vigor eventually began to decline.
Throughout her life, Carol shared an incredible relationship with her youngest sister, Mary Louise Sweeney. They traveled extensively and nurtured friendships with a few women that have endured through today. Mary Louise had one child, Meghan, and Carol was extremely involved in her upbringing, ultimately blessed to become a very hands-on Great Aunt to Meghan’s two children, interacting with them through the final day of her life.
As her health became more fragile, she lived with Mary Louise and her husband of more than 50 years, Edward. For the past several years, all three were lovingly supported and cared for by Meghan, her husband Bucky and their children. Mary Louise passed away just two weeks before Carol did, cementing forever in Heaven the close and loving bond they had always shared.
To the children and grandchildren of the Kahny family, there is little surprise that once her last sister passed away, Carol followed. Her work on Earth was done.
There will be a viewing on Thursday, February 6 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Kimble Funeral Home, 1 Hamilton Avenue, Princeton, NJ.
The funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Paul Parish, 216 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ, on Friday, February 7 at 10 a.m., with the burial immediately following in St. Paul Parish Cemetery.
All are cordially welcome to attend, as Carol would have wanted.
