Kathleen Ryan Geren, 81, of Eatontown, passed away peacefully embraced by the love of her children, family and friends. She was born in Troy, New York, to her mother Jane Ryan Geren and father John F. Geren.
Kathleen attended Ballston Spa, New York, schools graduating in 1958. She then attended Samaritan Hospital School of Nursing in Troy where she became a Registered Nurse.
Kathleen was the first hospice homecare nurse at MCOSS, now known as Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey. She went on to work at Riverview Hospital Hospice and Meridian Homecare Hospice. Kathleen was passionate about her profession and dedicated to her patients. For this she was awarded New Jersey Hospice Nurse of the Year in 1999 by the New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
In 1995 Kathleen graduated from Monmouth University, obtaining a Bachelor of Social Work. She was employed at Kensington Court Medical Adult Day Care for 13 years as a social worker.
Kathleen is survived by her children, John Michael Glover (California), James Luke Glover and his wife Michelle (Massachusetts), Patrick Timothy Glover and his wife Tracy (Wisconsin), her daughter Jennifer Kathleen Glover (New Jersey) and her seven grandchildren, David, Ryan, Cassidy, Julia, Molly, Johnny and Christopher. She loved them all dearly and proudly. Kathleen’s greatest joy was being Nana. Kathleen is also survived by her fiancé Robert Orndorff, Eatontown, with whom she enjoyed life, and her dear brother and good friend John J. Geren, M.D., Leesburg, Florida.
Kathleen loved her family, friends, her patients and their families. She enjoyed books, gardens, watercolors, prayers, poems and ice cream. Her sense of humor carried her through the ups and downs of life. She was a water color artist of local renown. For many years she planted and maintained the Eatontown Public Library Garden. She had many valued friends in Al-Anon and volunteered at the Monmouth County SPCA.
Arrangements are being made by Thompson Memorial Home in Red Bank. A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Sept. 21 at St. Anselm’s Church in Wayside. A burial at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Cambridge, New York will be held at a later date.
For those wishing to honor Kathleen, in lieu of flowers, a donation in her name can be to the Monmouth County SPCA, 260 Wall St., Eatontown, NJ 07724.
The article originally appeared in the September 23 – 29, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
