Mary Kathleen "Kathy" Delaney, 66, passed away on April 2, 2016 surrounded by her loving family. Kathy was born in Portland, Oregon on August 29, 1949 to James and Alice (Powers) Delaney, the first of their eight daughters. In 1952, her family moved to Butte, Montana. Kathy attended Emerson grade school, East Junior High School and graduated from Butte High School in 1967. She attended the Montana School of Mines in Butte before beginning the first of many jobs that she held. While attending school, she worked as a psychiatric aid at Warm Springs Hospital. She later worked for the Postal Service and the Board of Corrections. She then began a long career for Community Career Counseling Services as their bookkeeper, retiring in 2015.

Kathy's love of Butte, its history and its people was well known. She was an avid supporter of all Butte athletics and attended most, if not all, Butte High, Butte Central and Montana Tech sporting events. She also was a diehard Montana Grizzly and Seattle Seahawks fan. She loved to shop, attend Christmas bazaars, raise money for Relay for Life, and go to all of Butte's festivals. Her friendships were many and lifelong. She was a constant source of strength, wisdom, humor, and support when they needed it most.

Kathy's dedication to her family was steadfast. She was very proud of the accomplishments of her sisters, nieces and nephews and she traveled far and wide to attend their sports events, graduations, and weddings. It was not a celebration until Kathy arrived. Her love of them and the strength, and courage she showed throughout her life laid the foundation upon which their successes were built.

Kathy was preceded in death by her parents, and sister (and best friend), Jane Marie Krause. She is survived by her sisters Patty (John) Cohlhepp, Peggy (Rick Poese) Delaney, Leanne (Jim) Orlich, Beth Zobenica, Nancy (Anthony) Delaney-Smith, and Michelle (Jeff) Cislo; nieces and nephews Adrianne Hodder, Meagan (Jeff) Beckett, E.J. and Blake Cohlhepp, Gina Zobenica, Katie Cislo and great-nieces, Piper and Paige Beckett.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Ann's Catholic Church, 2100 Farragut Avenue at 11 a.m. followed by a reception at the St. Ann's Parish Hall. A private interment will follow in Mountain View Cemetery.

The family wishes to extend our sincere gratitude to Kathy's special friends including Meg Murphy, Kathy Lee, Jackie Smitham; Mike Thatcher and her co—workers at CCCS, and her Uno road trip companions for their love and support of Kathy throughout her life. Special thanks to Drs. Pat and Katie McGree, Dr. Anthony Russo, and the staff of Genesis Rehab Center, and St. James Healthcare for their compassionate care of Kathy.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to Butte Central, Butte High or Montana Athletics, the Montana Food Bank or charity of your choice.