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Rita Barker O'Leary, 86, Mount Kisco Resident Was Artist, Golf Champion

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. -- Rita Barker O'Leary, of Mount Kisco and Bass River, Mass., died at the age of 86.

O'Leary was born in Philadelphia on April 26, 1929, the oldest of four daughters, to Margaret M. and Paul A. Barker.

O'Leary was a gifted artist and her artistic abilities included painting beautiful oil and watercolors. She loved doing ceramics with her children and nieces.

She attended Immaculata University, majoring in home economics and was a varsity basketball player. She was also a talented cook.

O'Leary was also a talented golfer, winning her first tournament at Llanerch Country Club at the age of eight.  She continued to play competitive golf as a member of both the Women’s Tri-County and Westchester / Fairfield County Golf Associations She was runner-up four times in the club championship at  Winged Foot Country Club. In her later years, her home club was the Hyannisport Club.

O'Leary was active in both Our Lady of Fatima in Scarsdale and St. Patrick’s of Bedford.

O'Leary was married to Richard P. “Dick” O’Leary, who predeceased her in 2000.  She is survived by seven children: Alice Kerrigan (Kevin) of Ridgefield, Conn.; Brenda O’Leary of Bothell, Wash.; Colleen Duffy of Brewster; Rita O’Shea (Timothy) of Watertown, Conn.; Richard O’Leary, Jr. (Elizabeth) of Croton Falls; Paul O’Leary (Aran) of Sandy Hook, Conn. and Margaret O’Leary of Madison, Conn.

She is also survived by three sisters, Joan Nieporte, Margaret Flanigan and Paula MacEachen and 17 grandchildren.

Family will receive friends on Thursday, July 16 from 4-8 p.m. at Clark Associates Funeral Home, Katonah, N.Y.  The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, July 17 at 10 a.m. at St. Patrick’s Church, 7 Pound Ridge Road, Bedford Village. Interment will be on Saturday, July 18 at 12:30pm at Holy Trinity Cemetery in Harwich, Mass.

Donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to: Yarmouth Firefighter Relief Association, 96 Old Main Street, South Yarmouth, MA 02644.

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