Katherine Lee Molony
Kitty Molony has left the building. And her absence is felt profoundly by every one of her children and grandchildren, in so many ways.
Katherine Lee Molony, nee Bollinger, departed this earth on September 14, 2023 after a brief period of ill health. Hers was a life of complexity and challenge, lived fully and richly, including 60+ years in Santa Barbara. Together with her husband James, our late father, Kitty designed, built and landscaped a custom mid-century modern home in the foothills of Santa Barbara that provided the setting for our childhood of endless adventures, hiking, biking, swimming, hooky playing on horseback, polliwog hunting and more.
But let us go back to an earlier time. Born in Taft, California on August 15, 1930, Kitty Bollinger was the youngest of three girls born to Katherine and Don Bollinger. Kitty Lee was an adorable blue-eyed curly haired toddler who grew into a beautiful young woman. She finished nursing school and met and fell deeply and immediately in love with James Molony, a young Navy pilot. Two babies ensued, and pretty quickly they were a small family. In September 1952, James survived a major aircraft accident, falling onto the desert floor with a torn parachute and shattering both his legs in the process. Their life changed in an instant.
After two years spent in traction in a Navy hospital, Jim emerged in a wheelchair, progressing to a walker and then a cane. He spent the next few years obtaining his MBA at Stanford University with the constant help and support of Kitty, whose nursing skills were put to the test.
Their move to a rocky hill in Santa Barbara was low-key and filled with hope. By now they had four children; Michele, Suzanne, Michael, and Katherine. Their collaborative effort on the property, where they planted every tree and shrub, blossomed into a gentle homestead for their family of 5, with their fifth child, John, arriving on February 7, 1962. The rest is a mirage of school, bologna sandwiches, uniforms, swimming parties, and trips to the beach and to the Mission on Sundays. All of this was supervised by a succession of stoic, gentle German Shepherds who presided on the front porch to monitor visitors and greet everyone coming home.
Kitty was a maker. Her talents in sewing and crafting were legendary, and some of her hand-tailored pieces are in pristine condition today. She was an accomplished cook, and memories of her succulent Thanksgiving turkeys, delicious Easter leg of lamb and veal scaloppine are embedded in the ongoing story of our childhoods. She painted the house, tended to the landscaping, raised all of us to adulthood and still found the energy to play tennis at the Santa Barbara Tennis Club for many years.
Our mother was most proud of her accomplishments as a nurse at Pueblo Surgical Center, where she worked until her retirement in her 70’s. She was an astute observer of human nature, and always found the right words to say to a patient worried about a diagnosis. Her powers of observation survived right up to the end of her life.
It is impossible to describe Kitty Molony without a look at the family portraits decorating every wall of the house. She cherished and adored all her grandchildren: Alex, Olivia, Nikki, Monique, Jessica, Brittanny, Tiana and Bella. Her words of love and support, and her prickly sense of humor, as well as her creativity, have left all of her surviving family missing her and finding ways to remember her. So many memories and so much laughter in our now quiet homestead are a testament to her quick wit, her sense of humor, her intuitiveness and her creativity.
Yes, she was much loved, and will be deeply missed by all of us. We are grateful for the home she and our Dad provided and the stability, beauty and peace created in our home on the hill.
A celebration of life will take place in November.