Kathleen Code Doherty

With deep sadness, the family of Kathleen Doherty announces that our beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend passed away at home on Monday, May 15, 2023. To know Kathy was to love her. She attracted friends easily with her kindness, humor, and signature sense of style.

Born on September 18, 1947, in Kewanee, IL, Kathy was the youngest daughter of Donald and Florence Code. At just two years old, she contracted polio, which caused life-long health issues and a permanent disability. Those physical challenges did nothing to dampen Kathy’s indelible spirit, as she led a rich and accomplished life.

After graduating from the University of Illinois in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree and a rabid passion for the Fighting Illini, Kathy began her career in social work at Black Hawk College, working as an ESL instructor. In July of 1981, she joined the team at the Robert Young Mental Health Center as an Employment Specialist in the Community Support Program, where she thoughtfully and compassionately helped hundreds of clients find work. She spoke often and fondly about the 35 years she worked in the mental health field, how incredibly blessed she was to have a job she loved, and how she found the experience of helping others personally rewarding. 

Her family was Kathy’s top priority and brightest point of pride. For her children and grandchildren, she was a fixture at school events, games, and concerts – sometimes as a spectator, at other times a volunteer. For decades, Kathy and her husband Patrick welcomed friends and loved ones to their home for family dinners on Sunday nights, American Idol watch parties, boisterous Fighting Illini games, and massive holiday meals. A beacon of welcome and acceptance, Kathy extended the mantle of family to her friends and her “adopted” children. She loved to read, doted on her beloved dogs, always sported some bling, and spent many happy evenings attending shows at Circa ’21 with her friends.

Kathy’s huge heart and passion for service extended to her community, where she volunteered her time and expertise to the boards of directors of the Illinois Iowa Center for Independent Living, the Autism Society of the Quad Cities, and the Rock Island Girls Softball League. She provided trainings on disability accessibility and accommodations to people across the Quad Cities. 

She will be remembered for her warmth, kindness, empathy, and her infallible strength.

Those left to celebrate her memory include her loving husband of 42 years, Patrick Doherty; son, Andrew (Joscelyn) Rowe; daughters Alexis (Joel) DeWilde and Caitlin Doherty (James Tinney); bonus son Christopher Congleton and husband Joey Printy, who was Kathy’s devoted and extraordinary secondary caregiver; grandchildren Ben Andrews, Harper Maloney, Aiden Tinney, and Chloe Stone; and former spouse Gary (Linda) Rowe. She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Judith Gruber.

The family will greet mourners at Wheelan-Pressly Funeral Home and Crematory, 3030 7th Avenue, Rock Island on Thursday, May 18, 2023 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. A celebration of life gathering—or as Kathy put it, “a big-ass party”—will be held from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m. on September 23, 2023 at Riverfront Grill in Rock Island. Memorials may be made to Rock Island County Animal Welfare Center (QC Paws) or NAMI (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill).

Online condolences may be left at www.wheelanpressly.com.

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