Kathleen Ann Reilly

MADISON - Kathleen A Reilly, age 72, of Madison, entered into her eternal reward on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. Kathy was a gentle soul who journeyed with pancreatic cancer for 17 months with grace, dignity, and a smile on her face. She was born on Jan. 28, 1949, in Madison, to proud parents Lawrence and Irene (Stitgen) Reilly. Kathy graduated from Madison East High School in 1967 and attended UW-Whitewater. As a devoted mother to Corin, she supported him in countless ways. Kathy showed great love and care to her parents, siblings, extended family, and friends. Kathy worked as a programmer for the University of Wisconsin, retiring in the 1990s. She had previously been active in United Cerebral Palsy and the choir of St. Bernard Catholic Church. In honor of her son, Corin, she was an active supporter of Encore Studio for Performing Arts and acted alongside Corin in several productions of their plays. She enjoyed taking metaphysical classes to enhance her spirituality and became a Reiki Master. Along with the many dog and cat companions she had through the years, Kathy had a special fondness for all animals. For her 70th birthday, Kathy treated herself to a full-sleeve tattoo of endangered animals on her entire left arm in order to educate others and raise awareness about how to protect animals such as giraffes, elephants, lions, hawks, and orangutans. She loved encouraging people to check the ingredient labels on products to avoid palm oil in order to protect the habitat of many of these endangered animals. All animals recognized her beautiful soul and ability as an animal whisperer and loved her back. One example of Kathy’s caring soul and spirit is summarized by the day she came across a deer that had been hit by a car and while it had mortal injuries, had not yet died. Kathy sat down on the ground and gently placed the doe’s head in her lap, stroking its head and talking gently to bring peace to the doe’s final moments. Kathy is survived by her son, Corin Reilly; siblings Tim (Sue) Reilly, Cindy Reilly, Megan (Randy) Koepsell, and Casey (Cindy) Reilly; and nieces, nephews, other relatives, and close friend and neighbor, Elizabeth Golbach. She was preceded in death by her parents. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at ST. BERNARD CATHOLIC CHURCH, 2450 Atwood Ave., Madison, at 11 a.m., on Wednesday May 12, 2021. Visitation will be held at the church from 10 a.m. until the time of the Mass on Wednesday. Funeral service will also be livestreamed at www.sbmsn.org. Memorials may be made online to Encore Studio for the Performing Arts, http://encorestudio.org/blog/article/kathy-reilly-memorial, or by mail, 1480 Martin Street. Madison, WI 53713. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Drive (608) 221-5420