Kathryn K. Zapcic passed away peacefully at Jersey Shore University Medical Center Nov. 12. She was born in the Bronx, the daughter of Hugh Kennedy and Margaret Byrnes Kennedy. She graduated high school from Academy of St. Elizabeth’s in Convent Station.
As a young woman, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education which translated into her meaningful life’s work of teaching in Catholic schools. Students of St. Jerome’s in West Long Branch, St. Joseph’s in Keyport, and St. Leo’s in Lincroft all experienced the benefit of a genuinely caring, devoted teacher.
She resided in Shadow Lake Village in Red Bank and spent most of her life living in Eatontown. Katie cherished time spent with family and friends. She was most happy when she was attending her grandchildren’s activities, enjoying a new recipe or restaurant, when a new book arrived on her kindle, and watching “Jeopardy” with her husband.
She was predeceased by her parents and her aunt Mary, who helped raise her after her mother’s early passing. She is survived by her husband of 49 years, Richard A. Zapcic; her daughters, Jennifer Vetter (husband Tom), and Rebecca Zapcic (partner Branden Wilburn); and her three grandchildren, Abigail, Gavin and Claire; her sister Patricia Guarino (husband Robert); and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Visitation will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. Nov. 21 at the John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Ave., Red Bank. A prayer service will be held at the funeral home at 4 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Kathryn’s memory to the American Heart Association, One Union St., Suite 301, Robbinsville, NJ 08691, or the ASPCA, P.O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20090-6929.
The article originally appeared in the November 19 – 25, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
