OBITUARY

Christine Dwyer Kavanagh

Posted

PROVIDENCE — Christine Dwyer Kavanagh, 69, of Barrington, died very peacefully on Thursday, January 6, 2022, at her home. Christine was the beloved wife of Donald J. Kavanagh, Principal of La Salle Academy.
She was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a daughter of the late Joseph and Margaret (Gallagher) Dwyer. She was the sister of the late Ann Maffry.
She was a graduate of Rosary Academy, Manhattanville College (B.A., Music Education), and Boston University where she earned a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance.
Christine taught music, choral, and theater at St. Xavier Academy 1975 – 1983 and St. Mary Academy Bay View 1983 to the present. Her work on the Manhattan-At-The-Bay musicals for over 37 years were known nationally and even internationally. Her work with students was a passion for teaching young girls how to be their very best, not only on stage but in their careers and in family life.
She received the St. Mary Academy Bay View Faculty Catherine McAuley Award in 2003 for her ability to engender in her students that their talents are God-given. They have an obligation to nurture and develop these talents and share them with all human kind. She believed that teachers are conscientious professionals who must have the development and welfare of the learner at the heart of their decision making.
She was a communicant of St. Luke Church in Barrington. For over twenty years, Christine was a summer resident of Roy Carpenter’s Beach, Matunuck, where she relished the precious beach time spent with her children, and granddaughter. She was an avid reader, loved music and Broadway musicals. She was a creative genius while putting shows together for the students to perform on the Bay View stage as well as at the Providence Performing Arts Center, St. Catherine Academy in Belize, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and the American School in Paris.
Christine is survived by her two sons, Matthew D. Kavanagh (Alexandra Goldberg Kavanagh) and Patrick S. Kavanagh ( Lindsay Delaire Kavanagh) and her beloved granddaughter Eloise.
She is survived by two nieces, Caroline and Alison, and a host of loving, caring and devoted friends.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday January 15, 2022, in the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul, 30 Fenner Street, Providence. Visiting hours will take place at St. Mary Academy Bay View on Friday, January 14, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Relatives and friends are invited. Burial will be in the Christian Brother’s Center, 635 Ocean Road, Narragansett. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Christine D. Kavanagh Endowment Fund at St. Mary Academy Bay View, 3070 Pawtucket Ave., Riverside, RI 02915.