Kathleen Mcgrath

Kathleen McGrath died in Tucson, AZ, on April 20, 2024. She was 71. Her death followed a years-long physical decline due to Corticobasal Degeneration, which eventually crippled her entire body. Confined to a wheelchair since Christmas, 2022, she gradually lost the ability to speak due to Primary Progressive Aphasia, a side effect of the disease.

Kathleen died peacefully, at home in her own bed, an act of grace she bestowed upon those who survive her, including Jerry James, her husband of 48 years; their daughter, Rachel James; Kathleen's younger brothers, Matthew and Joseph McGrath; and her niece, Lauren McGrath.

Kathleen was born in New Castle, PA, on July 23, 1952, to Joseph and Rae (Marsteller) McGrath. She grew up in Gibsonia, PA, where she graduated from Richland HS. Her father directed the high school plays, in which she was an enthusiastic participant. She also appeared at the Red Barn Theatre, Hampton, PA.

Her arrival at Penn State in the summer of 1970 liberated her. Within a year she had moved in with a boyfriend, cut herself off from family support and was earning her living at the typewriter, displaying the streak of independence that would mark her adult life. She became a star at the Boal Barn Playhouse, Boalsburg, PA.

Kathleen met Jerry James in the fall of 1974, when he cast her in LEMON SKY at Penn State. They became a couple that December and shortly thereafter, embarked on the Bicentennial Wagon Train Pilgrimage to Pennsylvania.

They performed the Wagon Train Show nightly for fourteen months, first from the Washington-Canada border to Sioux Falls, SD; then from Houston, TX, to Valley Forge, PA, taking time out to be married on December 13, 1975.

In October 1976, they moved to New York City, where they lived for forty years. Their daughter Rachel was born there in 1983.

After years of performing in regional theatre and national tours, playing roles as diverse as Laurey in OKLAHOMA! and Rizzo in GREASE, Kathleen segued into a career in government, retiring in 2015 as Senior Director of Web Development for NYC Health + Hospitals Corporation.

In 2016, Kathleen and Jerry moved to Tucson, where they were patrons of the Rogue Theatre, run by her brother, Joseph McGrath.

A celebration of her life is planned for December 7,  2024, at the Rogue.

Donations in her memory should be sent to Friends of Aphasia: https://friendsofaphasia.com/