Family

Kathleen McKeirnan, my father’s mother, was born in Cork, Ireland on April 13, 1922. She was born to Laurence and Mary Murphy Murray. She was the second oldest of eight children. They lived in a three-bedroom house without hot water. She studied hard in school. She and her siblings did lots of chores, taking care of chickens, etc. During high school, she worked in an orphanage/convent. In her early twenties, her boyfriend broke up with her when she needed a hysterectomy because of medical problems. Her Aunt Peg, who was married to a native Luxembourger, had already immigrated to Walla Walla. Because her chances of marrying in Ireland appeared to be poor, Aunt Peg encouraged Kathleen to immigrate to the United States. In 1947, Kathleen immigrated to Walla Walla to live with her Uncle Fred and Aunt Peg Fischbach. She worked at a telephone company, made friends, and lived with her relatives who were very generous and welcoming.

In the next few years, her younger brother and sister immigrated to Walla Walla. Her brother, Larry, was encouraged to enlist in the U.S. Army during the Korean War to gain his citizenship. He married a woman locally and worked as a gifted plasterer in high demand, among the places her plastered was Whitman College’s Cordiner Hall ceiling. Her sister, Eileen, went through the nursing program at St. Mary’s Hospital in Walla Walla. Eileen married and moved to the Seattle area. She had five kids and worked as a nurse until retirement. Later another sister came, Peggy, who also worked as a nurse.

Kathleen met her future husband, Joseph McKeirnan when she was helping peel potatoes before a St. Patrick’s Catholic Church wedding reception. After courting for months, my grandfather asked for her hand. Kathleen hopped on a train to New York and a slow boat to Ireland to ask her parents what they thought. Joe was unsure if he would ever see her again. During her time in Ireland, they exchanged letters to keep in touch. She married Joe on September 24, 1955 in Pomeroy, Washington. Later, they adopted three children from Cork, the very same convent/orphanage where Kathleen had worked during high school. They were happily married for fifty years until she passed away on September 20, 2009.