Kathleen (Duffy) Sprows entered eternal life on April 16, 2025.
Kathy was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, on March 18, 1945. Kathy was witty, wise, and warmly devoted to her family and her many friends. She attended St. Alice Grade School, Archbishop Prendergast High School, Immaculata College, and Temple University. On August 8, 1970, she married Tom Sprows, and they raised three children together on Lamp Post Lane in Aston, Pennsylvania. Kathy was an active member of St. Joseph Parish in Aston for many years. She often served as a substitute teacher at the parish grade school. She was a dedicated volunteer at the parish, never missing a Hoagie Day or the Annual Bazaar. For many years she distributed communion at local nursing homes. Kathy and Tom moved from Aston to Belmont in Garnet Valley in 2009 and then to Maris Grove Retirement Community in Glen Mills in 2023.
Kathy loved the English language was gifted at teaching others how to speak and write it well. The daughter of Irish immigrants, she helped hundreds other newcomers adjust to this country through her work as an ESL teacher at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit and at Delaware County Community College. Her many students remember how kind and patient she was.
Kathy loved a hot cup of tea, going out to lunch with her friends, hunting for bargains, eating Kohr Brothers Custard on the Ocean City Boardwalk, annual New Years’ Eve Parties, cruises with Tom and their friends, libraries and book clubs, and doing crafts, first with her children and then her grandchildren. Her grandchildren treasure the memories of trips with Mom Mom/ MomO to the park and playground, vacations at the shore, splitting chicken fingers and fries at IHOP, and the many runs to the Dollar Store and Boscov’s.
Kathy was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Margaret (Nicholas) Duffy; her siblings Margaret (Peggy), Mary Ellen, Anne, and Thomas; and her niece and nephew Steven and Stacey Rodemer. She will be deeply missed by her husband of almost 55 years, Tom Sprows; daughters Kathleen (South Bend, Indiana) and Marybeth (Los Angeles, California); son Tom (Glen Mills); son-in-law Thomas Cummings and daughter-in-law Mala Sprows; sister-in-law Karen Rodemer; grandchildren Margaret, T.C., Lauren, Jonathan, Evan, Annie, and Ryan; nephew Christopher Burke; niece Susan Rodemer; and countless friends, who remember how much she made them laugh, and how ready she always was to help them.
Having spent most of her life on-the-go, Kathy did not find it easy to rest, and her declining health over the last several years made her restless. Now she rests in peace, in God’s eternal presence.
A Funeral Mass will take place on Wednesday, April 23, at 11:00 at the Church of St. Joseph, Concord Road, Aston, PA, with a viewing before Mass beginning at 9:30. Internment will follow in St. Peter & Paul Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Kathy wished for donations to go to the IHM Sisters, c/o IHM Mission Advancement, 230 IHM Drive, Malvern, PA 19355 or at the following link: https://secure.etransfer.com/EFT/custom/SIHM/FlexBlockCode/Donation1.cfm?d2org=SRSofIHM&d2tool=donate
Kathy was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, on March 18, 1945. Kathy was witty, wise, and warmly devoted to her family and her many friends. She attended St. Alice Grade School, Archbishop Prendergast High School, Immaculata College, and Temple University. On August 8, 1970, she married Tom Sprows, and they raised three children together on Lamp Post Lane in Aston, Pennsylvania. Kathy was an active member of St. Joseph Parish in Aston for many years. She often served as a substitute teacher at the parish grade school. She was a dedicated volunteer at the parish, never missing a Hoagie Day or the Annual Bazaar. For many years she distributed communion at local nursing homes. Kathy and Tom moved from Aston to Belmont in Garnet Valley in 2009 and then to Maris Grove Retirement Community in Glen Mills in 2023.
Kathy loved the English language was gifted at teaching others how to speak and write it well. The daughter of Irish immigrants, she helped hundreds other newcomers adjust to this country through her work as an ESL teacher at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit and at Delaware County Community College. Her many students remember how kind and patient she was.
Kathy loved a hot cup of tea, going out to lunch with her friends, hunting for bargains, eating Kohr Brothers Custard on the Ocean City Boardwalk, annual New Years’ Eve Parties, cruises with Tom and their friends, libraries and book clubs, and doing crafts, first with her children and then her grandchildren. Her grandchildren treasure the memories of trips with Mom Mom/ MomO to the park and playground, vacations at the shore, splitting chicken fingers and fries at IHOP, and the many runs to the Dollar Store and Boscov’s.
Kathy was preceded in death by her parents, Thomas and Margaret (Nicholas) Duffy; her siblings Margaret (Peggy), Mary Ellen, Anne, and Thomas; and her niece and nephew Steven and Stacey Rodemer. She will be deeply missed by her husband of almost 55 years, Tom Sprows; daughters Kathleen (South Bend, Indiana) and Marybeth (Los Angeles, California); son Tom (Glen Mills); son-in-law Thomas Cummings and daughter-in-law Mala Sprows; sister-in-law Karen Rodemer; grandchildren Margaret, T.C., Lauren, Jonathan, Evan, Annie, and Ryan; nephew Christopher Burke; niece Susan Rodemer; and countless friends, who remember how much she made them laugh, and how ready she always was to help them.
Having spent most of her life on-the-go, Kathy did not find it easy to rest, and her declining health over the last several years made her restless. Now she rests in peace, in God’s eternal presence.
A Funeral Mass will take place on Wednesday, April 23, at 11:00 at the Church of St. Joseph, Concord Road, Aston, PA, with a viewing before Mass beginning at 9:30. Internment will follow in St. Peter & Paul Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, Kathy wished for donations to go to the IHM Sisters, c/o IHM Mission Advancement, 230 IHM Drive, Malvern, PA 19355 or at the following link: https://secure.etransfer.com/EFT/custom/SIHM/FlexBlockCode/Donation1.cfm?d2org=SRSofIHM&d2tool=donate