Kathleen Neeley

Kathleen Louise Neeley-wife, mother, and retired librarian-died May 22, 2026, in hospice at Lawrence Presbyterian Manor, Lawrence, Kansas. She was 80.

She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where her father was an industrial machine operator and her mother a homemaker and school secretary. She grew up in the suburb of McCandless Township and graduated from North Allegheny High School. She earned a BS degree in chemistry from Chatham College, Pittsburgh, in 1968, winning the undergraduate research prize from the Pittsburgh section of the Electrochemical Society.

Following graduation, she was a chemist at the U.S. Plant, Soil & Nutrition Laboratory, Cornell University. She earned a master's degree in library science at Syracuse University and was a librarian at Carrier Corporation, Syracuse, and the Health Science Library, University of Minnesota, Duluth. Prior to coming to Lawrence, she was for three years a librarian at Westinghouse Nuclear Energy Systems, Pittsburgh.

At the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kathleen was a librarian from 1977 until 2006. Starting as chemistry librarian, she became head of the science libraries in 1985, head of the new Anschutz Science Library in 1989, and assistant university archivist in 1997. She was active in the Division of the History of Chemistry of the American Chemical Society.

In 1968, Kathleen married James Dalton Neeley, Jr., whom she met in high school. They moved to Lawrence in 1977 where they were both librarians at KU for 30 years. They raised their children in the West Hills neighborhood and joined Plymouth Congregational Church. Kathleen was a devoted mother, eager to be involved in her children's daily lives and future plans. She loved planning travels to faraway places, and the family took many vacations, often in Lakeside, Ohio, her family's getaway for generations, or Pensacola, Florida, where his parents retired.

Survivors include James, her husband of 57 years, Lawrence; daughter Laura (Dan) Nelson, Baldwin City, KS; and son Alan (Cate) Neeley, Olathe, KS; brother Paul (Betty) Kratt, Lewes, DE; and six grandchildren: James, Noah, Lisa, and Luke Nelson, and Andrew and Madeline Neeley. She was preceded in death by her parents Mildred J. (Snellbacher) and George E. Kratt, Jr.

Private burial services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Kathleen's memory to the charity of your choosing.