Obituary: Helen Kilkenny

December 29, 1935 - October 11, 2022

Helen Kilkenny / Courtesy photo

Helen Kilkenny, 86, of Devlin Road, Duxbury, died Tuesday, October 11, 2022, at the University of Vermont Medical Center after a brief illness.

She was born in the Bronx, New York, on December 29, 1935, the daughter of John and Jean McDuff.

On May 10, 1958, she married Frank J. Kilkenny in the Bronx.

In 1970, she and Frank bought a camp on Lake Iroquois in Hinesburg, Vermont. This was Helen’s Happy Place. Helen and Frank spent many summers entertaining at the lake. They were happy to welcome extended family and friends to their Happy Place. Their family just celebrated their 52nd year on the lake.

Helen and Frank raised their family in the Bronx until 1976 when they moved to Vermont. They purchased a general store in the Colbyville section of Waterbury which they ran for 19 years as Kilkenny’s Market. The market was well-known for miles around for Helen’s homemade soups, chili and grinders.

Survivors include their children, Annmarie Duff and her husband Jim of Stowe, Peter Kilkenny of Duxbury, and Kevin Kilkenny of Las Vegas, Nevada; five grandchildren, Catherine, Christopher, Colin Kilkenny, and Caitlyn and Victoria Duff; and one great-grandchild Jade Roberson of Austin, Texas.

Her husband Frank and daughter Kathleen died earlier.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, Oct. 22, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Waterbury.

Helen will be interred at a later date at the Gates of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York.

The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in Helen Kilkenny’s memory to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641 or online at cvhhh.org.