Obituary of Emily Rose Kearney

Emily Rose Kearney was born on a subzero Sunday morning, February 25, 1979, in Hanover, NH. From that moment, she lived life with intense emotion, questioning the status quo and forging her own path. After elementary school in New Hampshire and Vermont and middle school in San Francisco, she was graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in Sudbury, MA, and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Boston College and UMass Boston. Although she seriously considered a career in art, Emily became a creative and committed teacher of middle school math. She taught in the Boston city schools, Mystic Valley Charter School in Malden, MA, and in summer programs, including her favorite, TAG (Talented and Gifted Latino Program of UMass Boston). She was drawn to the most troubled and disadvantaged students, and they repaid her with success and lasting gratitude. Emily was dedicated to community service from an early age and was a fierce seeker of purpose and meaning. She found her spiritual home in Christianity, in recent years at the East Coast International Church in Lynn, MA, and in her last six months at Harvest Bible Chapel in Rochester, NY. A survivor of one cancer in 2012, she met her second, unrelated cancer diagnosis in 2015 with determination and with persistent commitment to make a contribution, even as physical challenges mounted. Her death from anaplastic astrocytoma on June 1, 2016, was sooner than expected, yet she was lucid and calm, declaring with beautiful wide eyes and definitive nods that she was not afraid, had no regrets, and was ready to go. She believed unswervingly that she was in God’s hands. She is survived by her grandmother Martha Heyneman of Rochester, parents Maggie Kearney of Rochester and Patrick Kearney (Ruth) of Burlington, VT; brother Paul (Jill Rotondo) of Burlington, VT; aunts and uncles Jan, David (Diane Wright), and John Heyneman (Kris), Tom Kearney (Rebecca Pschirrer), Helen Kovatch (George), and Maureen Doyle (Matt); her Kearney, Heyneman, and Doyle cousins, and a host of treasured friends. All who knew her, from friends and classmates to students, colleagues, family, and friends, were buoyed and inspired by her optimism, her generosity of spirit, and her resolve, even in the face of her own final struggle, to contribute to repairing the world. Emily’s beloved community in her last six months, Harvest Bible Chapel, will celebrate her life at 2:30 pm on Saturday, June 11, at the Pittsford Community Church, 421 Marsh Rd. Pittsford, NY. No prior calling hours. Emily chose cremation; disposition of ashes will be private. Donations in Emily’s memory may be made to the TAG program (Talented and Gifted Latino Program of UMass Boston), online at https://www.umb.edu/tag or by mail to 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125-3393.