Kathryn Rose Boice
September 16, 1966 - May 13, 2025
Kathryn passed away on May 13, 2025, at the age of 58 from pancreatic cancer, surrounded by family and friends.
Kathryn grew up mainly in Rochester, NY as the middle child of Ken and Rose Boice. She attended Bishop Kearney High School with her brothers Chuck and Don, before studying education at SUNY Geneseo. She moved over 25 times including to California to help watch her cousins, to Baltimore to start a teaching career, to Chicago to volunteer with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, to Manhattan to cross that off her bucket list, and to Boston to work in teacher education and meet lifelong friends. She spent over 25 years in Somerville and Cambridge, and of the 19 jobs she had, one of her favorites was teaching adults English at night for the Cambridge Community Learning Center. She always sought out work that filled a purpose and her passion for helping students learn to read and speak English.
In the last ten years, she spent half of her time in her condo in the city, and the other half in the suburbs as a family with Edwin Mena and his children Dante and Ava, starting when they were 3 and 5. They have traveled, hosted wine tasting and Arbor Day parties, held backyard BBQs, and found many ways to enjoy their abundant social life with friends and family.
She loved to paint and sold most of her original oil paintings. She valued connections and made lasting memories, most of which could be seen in the photos on her fridge. She tried saying “yes” to everything she could and experiencing as much life as possible.
As a devoted dog owner, Chex was the topic of many conversations, responsible for often stealing food and sometimes nipping people, doing tricks, and making us laugh. His YouTube channel is full of his antics.
After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022, Kathryn found out how many friends she had. The amount of help that was needed was overwhelming and a huge number of people volunteered their time, energy, gifts, and support to manage her care. She was so grateful for every good thought and wish sent her way, as well as the gifts and in-person support from her friends and family. Special gratitude to Amy Armstrong, Kathy Carton, Cecilia Roddy and Mary Beth Morgan (Exec Team), who so lovingly coordinated and cared for Kath throughout her illness. Chuck and Ingrid were lovingly present towards hospice care and were crucial at helping her pass onto the next phase of life.
She is survived by her partner, Edwin Mena of Framingham, MA, her brothers Chuck of Binghamton, N.Y. and Don of Rochester, N.Y., 5 nieces and nephews, and parents Ken and Rose of Rochester, N.Y.
Funeral mass will be held on May 23, 2025, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, 400 Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02141 at 11:00 am.
A memorial service will be held in Rochester, NY at a later date.
Please consider a donation to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (https://pancan.org), The Arbor Day Foundation, or support Edwin for his PMC Cancer Fundraiser for Dana Farber where Kath courageously fought her battle, https://profile.pmc.org/EM0392