Dr. Kathleen Kingston of Norwalk, wife of James Mitchell, passed away Thursday, the First of December, 2016. She was 71. Born Kathleen Doris Parks on January 20, 1945, in Patterson, NJ, she was the daughter of the late Robert and Maureen Parks. Dr. Kingston received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ. In 1993, she earned her Ph.D. in Mathematics from Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ upon performing significant work in Group Theory, exploring Bianchi groups class one. She worked as a Professor of Mathematics at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield for 30 years, retiring in 2009.
Kathleen was an avid Civil War buff, having toured several historical Civil War battlefields up and down the East Coast. She was also a Debutante of the Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey, a print model for IBM, and an extra in the 1974 film Man on a Swing – all before starting her career in academia. She was adored by her friends and family and will be greatly missed.
She is survived by husband James; sons Kevin O’Hara and Robert O’Hara of Houston, TX, and James Kingston and his wife Sarah of Meriden, CT; 2 grandchildren, Jacqueline O’Hara and Andrew O’Hara of Houston; and brothers John Parks of Wantagh, NY and James Parks of Wyckoff, NJ. She is also survived by 5 step-children, 7 step-grandchildren, 6 nieces and nephews, and 5 grandnieces and grandnephews. She was predeceased by her brother Robert Parks.
A memorial service will be held on Friday, December 16, 2016 at 10:00am at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 1864 Post Road, Darien, CT. Arrangements are in the care of Collins Funeral Home.