WATERTOWN — A long-serving elementary school principal who died last week at the age of 59 is being remembered for the attention and care she gave her students.
Kathy Scully died last Wednesday after a 19-month battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, according to her obituary.
“She believed deeply in kids, she cared about every single student who passed through her doors,” said Laura Meka, the principal of John Trumbull Primary School who was Scully’s friend and colleague of more than two decades. “Her legacy will live on forever.”
Since Scully’s passing, Meka said she’s received emails from Scully’s former students offering their condolences.
“They remembered her because of the impact she had, but nobody - no person - has a bad thing to say about her,” Meka said in an interview this week. “She was a beatiful person inside and out.”
Meka added: “Families looked up to her, if they had a problem they could trust her and know that she would do the right thing. She did right by every student, and that’s what she taught me to do.”
Kathleen Scully was born in Waterbury on Oct. 26, 1962, to Mary and John Moriarty, according to the obituary. She graduated from Holy Cross High School in 1980 and then obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in special education from St. Joseph College.
She began her career in the Watertown school district in 1984 as a special education teacher, the obituary states. Scully would remain with Watertown schools for the entirety of her career in education.
She later attended Sacred Hearst University for her certification in educational leadership, which was where she and Meka first met.
Meka said Scully played a role in her decision to come work in Watertown from Waterbury schools. “There was just something about her — her calm demeanor, you wanted to know more about her because she was so unbelievably kind.”
Three of Meka’s children would ultimately have Scully as their principal.
She taught at Judson and Baldwin elementary schools before being named assistant principal and later principal of John Trumbull Primary School, the obituary states. She returned to Judson school in 2014 as principal before her retirement in 2020.
“Kathy enjoyed spending time with family and friends especially at the beach on the Connecticut shore, Maine, and Cape Cod,” her obituary reads. “Kathy was also extremely proud of her children and their accomplishments.”
Soon after her retirement, Scully was diagnosed with a an aggressive form of brain cancer, the Waterbury Republican American reported. The Watertown High School girls soccer team held a clothing drive earlier this month to benefit Scully’s family.
Scully is survived by her husband of 34 years, James M. Scully, along with her mother, two children and several siblings.
Calling hours will be held at the Hickcox Funeral Home on Main Street in Watertown from 5 to 7 p.m. on March 29. Her funeral will be held at 10 a.m. the following day at St. John the Evangelist Church on Main Street.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for donations to be made to the Watertown Foundation to benefit the Watertown and Oakville communities.
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March 30, 2022 at 02:14AM
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‘She believed deeply in kids’: Watertown principal remembered by former colleague - CT Insider
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