Kathleen “Casey” Kendall, 72, of Oak Harbor, passed away at home on March 29, 2010, with her daughters by her side. She was born on April 7, 1937 in Darby, Penn., to Joseph Collins and Margaret (McKenna) Collins.

Casey graduated from the Convent of the Sacred Heart Eden Hall in 1955 and went on to the Villanova University School of Nursing. In 1958 she became one of the first women in the Philadelphia Navy Recruiting Area to be a candidate for the Navy Nurse Corps. At graduation, she was commissioned an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve and in 1963 was augmented to the United States Navy. She served in naval hospitals in Oakland, Calif., Taiwan, Philadelphia and from 1966 to 1968, she was at the Great Lakes Training Station in Illinois, training medical corpsmen who would later serve in Vietnam. In 1967, Casey married her husband James Kendall and they were stationed in Camp Pendleton in California. Shortly after, they were stationed to Iwakuni, Japan, where they adopted twin Korean girls from Seoul, South Korea. Casey continued on active duty in the Navy, the first woman naval officer to remain on active duty after becoming a mother. From 1977 to 1982, Casey was Chief Director of Nursing Services at Naval Air Station Hospital in Oak Harbor. She was promoted to captain before retiring in 1982. In 1986, she was a founding member of the Navy Nurse Corps Association, an organization of several thousand retired and former Navy nurses. In 1992, Casey graduated from Seattle University with a master’s in Theological Studies.

After Casey retired, she was very active in her community. She was newsletter chair for the local Habitat for Humanity program, she served on the board for the local Help House and WAIF (an animal shelter program) and ran fundraising projects for these organizations. Casey served on the Vocational Education Committee of Oak Harbor High School for 5 years. She was an active member of St. Augustine’s Catholic Church and served as chair of the Justice and Human Services Committee which provides services for Women’s Wellness Center and the Catholic Seaman’s Center, both in Seattle. She was active in the local CADA, Pregnancy Care Clinic, Detention Ministry, and clothing for local migrant workers. She coordinated the training and educational program for those interested in the church (RCIA). She served as president of the Ladies Society and brought Eucharist to those who were homebound. She was also instrumental in starting the outreach program to the Hispanic community in our area.

For the past 24 years, Casey helped found and volunteered at the local foot clinic. This program is run by retired nurses who volunteer their time and expertise. Casey served elderly patients by examining their feet for health problems, providing foot soaks and massages of the feet and calves, nail clipping and buffing, with plenty of TLC. She took the time to sit and converse with her patients. She took a personal interest in everyone she met. She felt the hands-on, touching ministry was crucial to the mental and physical health of the senior citizens. She often took her foot care items and visited those who were homebound. If, in the process of working on a person’s feet, she heard about some problem in their lives, she spent personal time and money to find a solution for them.

Kathleen “Casey” Kendall is survived by daughter Katie Kendall and her son Joshua Kendall; her daughter Kellie Cooper and husband Larry Cooper with their two sons Christopher and Alexander Cooper; her sister Nora Leibold and husband Art Leibold; her brother Jerry Collins and wife Colleen Collins; her sisters-in-law Shirley Pass and husband Dale Pass and Sylvia Strain and husband Leon Strain, along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. Casey’s husband of over 40 years, James “Jim” Kendall, passed away at home on Dec. 11, 2009. The daughters would like to take this time to thank all the wonderful friends of Casey who came forward to offer their assistance and friendship.

A memorial service will be held at the St. Augustine’s Catholic Church on Friday, April 23, at 10 a.m. A vigil service will be held the night before. Burley Funeral Chapel has been entrusted with arrangements.

Condolences may be left for the family at www.burleyfuneralchapel.com.