Kathleen Shea Ledo

Kathleen Mary (Shea) Ledo passed away on July 21, 2026. Kathy was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts on November 10, 1940, moved to Vermont in the late 1960s, where she lived until 2010, then moving to Raleigh, North Carolina in her retirement years. She was predeceased by her husband, John, parents Joseph Patrick and Lena Mary (Atti) Shea and her sister Elizabeth Ann.

Kathy graduated from Silver Lake Regional High School, Kingston, Massachusetts, in 1958. She was inspired to pursue nursing by her own nurses when she contracted bulbar polio at age 14. She graduated from Quincy Hospital School of Nursing in 1961, obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Castleton State College and a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Vermont in 1992. She was also a certified critical care registered nurse. She worked for many years beginning in 1971 at the Rutland Regional Medical Center in Rutland, Vermont in a variety of areas including staff nursing in Medical Surgery areas such as the Intensive Care Unit and Post Anesthesia Care Unit. She also worked in the Hospital Education Department. She later worked as an Assistant Professor at Adirondack Community College in the Health Sciences Division from 1992 through 2012 and was Division Chairperson for her last 5 years there. Kathy was active for many years in the Vermont State Nurses Association (serving on the Board of Directors, as President of District III and as Chair or Co-Chair of several state conventions). She was also a member of the National Nurses Association and a member of the Nursing Honor Society Sigma Theta Tau (Kappa Tau Chapter). She volunteered with the American Nurses Association and the American Association Critical Care Nursing. 

Kathy was married to John Joseph Ledo on August 5, 1961 until his passing on September 20, 2021. She is survived by her two brothers, John Francis (Judy) Shea and Michael Patrick (Lynda) Shea, her children, David James (Beate) Ledo, Edward John (LeAnne) Ledo, Michele Ann (Laura) Ledo, and Robert Charles Ledo. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Nicholas Ledo, Jessica Ledo, Philipp Ledo, Lukas Ledo, Christopher Ledo, Jonas Ledo, Patrick Ledo, John Ledo and Joseph Ledo. In addition, she is survived by nephews, nieces, cousins, many relatives and friends too numerous to name but to each her family is grateful.

Kathy enjoyed the ocean, with a special place in her heart for Saquish, Massachusetts and Prince Edward Island, Canada, spending hours looking for sea glass. When she was younger, she enjoyed downhill skiing and kayaking. She also enjoyed quilting, playing chess and travel. In Raleigh, she volunteered at the Salvation Army and Transitions LifeCare. But, one of her greatest joys was belonging to a choir, especially when singing Handel's Messiah, whether at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Fair Haven, Vermont, the Grace Congregational Church in Rutland, Vermont or the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral Spiritual Choir in Raleigh, North Carolina.

A funeral mass will be held for Kathleen at the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral, 715 Nazareth St., Raleigh, North Carolina on August 22, 2026 beginning at 11:00 a.m., with a reception immediately after in the Parish Center Facility. All are welcome to join us as we celebrate Kathleen's life. In addition, the funeral mass will be livestreamed at https://todaycreative.co/z-funerals/kathleenmaryshealedo/ for those who cannot attend in person.