Kathleen Winslow Weld

Kathleen Winslow Weld – loving wife, beloved mother and “Grammy,” faithful sister, devoted friend – entered eternity on Thursday, October 24 after a short battle with cancer. She left this life at Newton-Wellesley Hospital much as she lived it: with grace, peace, and surrounded by loved ones. Kathy will be remembered for her infectious warmth, gracious hospitality, tireless work ethic, devotion to family and friends, and steadfast faith. Her family and many friends rejoice in her memory and in the certainty of her eternal salvation. 

The oldest of six siblings, Kathy was born in 1947 in Tiburon, CA into a family with unabashed do-it-yourself values. Her upbringing at the family home on San Francisco Bay instilled in her lifelong habits of hard work, vigorous play, and the pursuit of excellence. As a child, she often rose at 6:00 AM to practice the piano before the school day began. Kathy learned to sail and play tennis and how to get her hands dirty in the varied work “parties” her parents organized around their property. She would bring these talents East with her where she spent the rest of her adult life outworking and outplaying most of those around her, always with kindness, warmth, and a twinkle in her blue eyes. 

Kathy’s father, a Connecticut-born Yankee, believed strongly in a classical education, and her own belief in the essential value of education left a lasting imprint on her sons, grandchildren and the many institutions and programs that she served. Kathy graduated from the Katharine Branson School in Marin County, CA before coming to the Boston area where she majored in music at Wellesley College. At the end of Kathy’s sophomore year at Wellesley, she responded to an advertisement for summer help at the home of Elizabeth Weld on Cape Cod. Unbeknownst to her, Mrs. Weld had three bachelor sons and she immediately caught the eye of the youngest, Walter. They were married on June 29, 1968, three weeks after Kathy graduated from Wellesley. The young couple then moved to Dover where they lived together for the past 56 years, raising four sons, entertaining 10 grandchildren, and hosting countless friends and visitors from around the globe. 

An accomplished pianist, Kathy’s love for music animated her life. She taught piano at the Dana Hall School of Music in Wellesley and out of her Dover home. For more than fifty years, she accompanied the annual musical performance of the Dover Foundation. Kathy served the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston in a variety of capacities over several decades, including as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors, “H&H” being one of the great joys of her life. She was the accompanist to the Children’s Choir at Park Street Church and, with fellow music enthusiasts, collaborated to bring professional-level music to Hospital Cove in Cataumet for outdoor July 4th concerts. Her repertoire ranged from classical to jazz to show tunes to patriotic favorites but her real love was the Romantic era, particularly Chopin. Kathy derived joy from music and her passion for it brought joy to many others. An indelible memory for her sons is hearing their mother at the piano, after a hectic day and busy bedtime routine, playing them to sleep with Schubert’s Piano Sonata in B flat, the melody wafting gently through the house. 

Kathy served wherever life took her. When her sons began attending Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Kathy served in the library before being elected to the Board of Trustees. A traditionalist, she advocated at Nobles in her winsome yet firm manner for the classic Western canon. She served the town of Dover for many decades in a variety of roles including on the Board of Selectman, eventually serving as Chair. A faithful follower of Jesus, Kathy led a woman’s bible study that met weekly in her home for nearly 40 years, developing and sustaining lifelong friendships and cultivating a genuine and living faith. 

Kathy’s greatest love was her family and the people who were important to them. She was faithfully devoted to her husband, Wally, and to their shared life which they built together over five and a half decades of marriage. She never regretted giving up her dream of being a concert pianist for the rigors of family life. Raising four sons required every fiber of her unique mix of gentleness and strength, warmth and toughness. Kathy oversaw the writing of her sons’ grade school papers at the kitchen counter where she demanded draft after draft before a paper could be turned in. She would correct an errant note from a son on the piano with a well-timed yell from the kitchen stove. Kathy also brought the frugality of her Scottish/Yankee heritage to her role as mother, creating home-made Halloween costumes and placing patch upon patch on worn-out boys’ trousers. She was loved by her sons’ friends, and by all who visited her home, in large part because she never said “no” to a guest and because every visitor was welcomed like family. And it didn’t hurt that her cooking – three meals a day, all year, every year – was delicious.  

A consummate teacher, Kathy instilled in her children and grandchildren life lessons great and small. She faithfully imparted the basics of the Christian faith, always with the uncomplicated practicality with which she lived her own life. She loved to take grandchildren and visitors clamming, instructing them on proper technique before returning to the kitchen, apprentices young and old in tow, to make her famous “clams casino.” No matter how many people were in her house – 20 was not unusual for holidays and summers – she somehow made sure the fridge was stocked with each person’s favorite goodie. After serving breakfast to a full house, she would embark on any number of outdoor gardening and work projects, frequently being the last one standing. Kathy’s ability to make all feel welcome made her home the hub for extended family and community gatherings, a special place of belonging, warmth, and joy. 

Kathy leaves behind her husband Wally; four sons and their wives; 10 grandchildren; five siblings; and countless friends and loved ones whose lives she touched. Her family is profoundly grateful for the memory of her life and gives glory to God for the blessing of being loved by her. A memorial service will be held at Park Street Church in Boston on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at 11:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kathy’s name to the Handel and Haydn Society at handelandhaydn.org/support/ways-to-give.