Margaret Irene Kavanaugh

Irene was born November 26, 1941 in Norfolk, Virginia. As the daughter of a Navy man, her family moved around a lot during her youth, before settling in Temple City, California, where she graduated from Temple City High School and earned a degree in bookkeeping from California Western University in 1964.

She met her future husband, Robert D. "Dennis" Kavanaugh, through her older brother Orval, and they were married on February 5, 1966. They moved to Denver, Colorado in 1968 and lived in the Denver area before moving to Ralston, Nebraska, in 2024 to be closer to their son Brian.

Irene was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the early 1970s and lived with its limits for a long time, but she always kept a positive outlook and stayed active where she could. She loved to read and was an avid baseball fan. Dennis and Irene had Colorado Rockies season tickets for several years, until it became too difficult to attend games. She was also a very good seamstress and made many of her family's clothes, which her children certainly didn't appreciate at the time. She loved musicals and plays, the Sound of Music being among her favorites, and especially enjoyed the ones her daughter Kerry was in.

Irene was preceded in death by her parents, Orval and Margaret Hart; and brother Robert Hart. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Dennis Kavanaugh; children Brian Kavanaugh and Kerry Kavanaugh; brother Orval (Norma) Hart, Jr.; and many nieces, nephews, and other family.

Instead of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made in her name to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.