Burgy, Kathleen Regan

The rich, extraordinary life of humanitarian, poet 
and peacemaker Kathleen Burgy ended gently on 
December 2, 2009, one day after she suffered a stroke 
at her Mill Valley, California home, The Redwoods. 
Our beloved "Aunt Kattie" filled her 94 years to the 
brim, a joyous and compassionate seeker and believer 
whose selfless life touched countless souls around 
the globe. She was born in Boise, Idaho on April 2, 
1915, the third of seven lively children of William 
V. Regan, of the pioneer Regan and Blackinger 
families, and Mollie Merle Regan, of the San 
Francisco Merle and Flavin families. She grew up in 
her beloved family home at 1009 Warm Springs Avenue. 
She attended St. Teresa's Academy in Boise, graduated 
from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Menlo Park 
and studied at San Francisco College for Women. In 
1935 she traveled abroad with a family friend, 
spending her 21st birthday in Canton when the 
Japanese had begun infiltrating China under the guise 
of schoolboys. The journey sparked her keen interest 
in human affairs and expanded her worldview. 
Returning to Boise, she volunteered to organize 
programs for crippled children, her first assignment 
in a lifetime of work with disadvantaged people. 
Kathleen moved to San Francisco in 1940, caring for 
her grandmother while working in infant shelters by 
day and as a nurse's aide by night. During WWII she 
joined the American Red Cross and set sail on the 
troop ship Queen Mary for England, where she directed 
one of the ARC Rest Homes for U.S. pilots suffering 
from combat fatigue and war trauma. She recalled the 
camaraderie huddling with Londoners in the Tube while 
"buzz" bombs exploded overhead. After the war, she 
joined a United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation 
team that took her to Germany for two years to work 
in refugee camps with newly liberated slave laborers 
and concentration camp survivors. She returned to 
Germany in 1947 with the American Friends Service 
Committee (Quakers), and spent three years in camps 
for displaced, unaccompanied children. Throughout her 
life, she kept in close, friendly contact with "her 
kids." In 1952, her studies for a master's degree in 
social work at Columbia University were interrupted 
when the AFSC asked her to head an international 
welfare unit serving Korean War refugees flooding 
into South Korea, a majority of whom were old, 
widowed, children or blind. After two years, she 
returned to New York and completed her Master's 
thesis on her Korean relief work. Upon her return to 
the Bay Area in 1956, Kat found a beautiful spot on 
her beloved Mount Tamalpais and began building her 
home. But before it was completed, she reluctantly 
answered another call from the AFSC, this time to 
Yugoslavia to work with refugees pouring across the 
border from Hungary during the bloody takeover by the 
Russian communists. Finally, in 1958 she took up 
residence in her cozy Mill Valley home and worked 
with various social service agencies including SF 
Int'l Institute for Foreign Born, Sunny Hills 
Children's Center, and Florence Crittendon Home for 
unwed mothers. In 1973, she received her license as a 
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, was accepted as an 
affiliate therapist at the San Francisco C.G. Jung 
clinic, and opened her private practice. Kat's life 
experiences, including a moving visit to Hiroshima, 
forged her passionate commitment to the causes of 
world peace, justice and human dignity. She was an 
outspoken anti-war activist and a member of many 
peace and social concern groups, including Mill 
Valley's Seniors for Peace, which she co-founded. 
Kathleen was a gifted writer and poet, crafting 
exquisite haikus and longer pieces sparkling with 
telling detail and perfectly chosen words. She was 
enthralled by classical music, Bach, the great Masses 
and Oratorios. She eagerly anticipated the monthly 
meetings of her writing and astrology groups. 
Kathleen enjoyed a rich spiritual life. A practicing 
Catholic for many years, she later joined the Quakers 
and in recent years attended the Zen Buddhist Green 
Gulch monastery and regularly participated in 
religious retreats in the northern counties. Her 
interest in depth psychology, mythology and religion 
took her to seminars at the C.G. Jung Institute in 
Switzerland, to a pre-Christian Celtic journey 
through Ireland, and to Greece with mythologist 
Joseph Campbell. In the 1980's, she traveled with UC 
Extension to Japan with renowned Taoist John Blosted. 
Kat's lifelong love of nature was boundless, fed by 
jaunts with her dog Nacho through the forested ridges 
and green folds of Mount Tam. A favorite spot was Old 
Frog Rock, which companions were urged to circle 
three times while chanting a wish. Her hillside aerie 
was filled with driftwood madonnas, beetle-bored 
bark, special stones and shells. An Audubon member, 
she relished the yearly migration of birds into the 
The Redwoods' marsh in her later years, particularly 
moved by the silent stand of the Great Blue Heron. 
Kathleen crowned her life with the vibrant jewels of 
her engaging personality, Irish charm and renowned 
wit. There was a hint of mischief in the air. One 
always left her presence with a smile, a shimmering 
insight, a renewed zest for life and a profound 
gratitude for the blessings of her being. We will 
dearly miss the honey sound of her voice, her sure 
and easy friendship, her peerless example and 
mentoring, and the love and concern she freely 
lavished on everyone. Thank you, dear Kattie. Good on 
ya! Kathleen was predeceased by her siblings William 
V. Regan, Jr., Margaret Regan, Monnie Finney, Timothy 
D. Regan, and Rosemary Ferree. She is survived by her 
brother, Col. John M. Regan of Fairfield, California, 
several proud and adoring nieces and nephews, and a 
host of close friends and colleagues. Contributions 
may be made in Kathleen's name to Seniors for Peace, 
40 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA 94901 or the American 
Friends Service Committee, 1501 Cherry Street, 
Philadelphia, PA 19102. Interment will be in the 
Regan Family plot at Morris Hill Cemetery, Boise. A 
memorial service will be held on Sunday, January 3, 
2010, at 3:00 p.m. at The Redwoods, 40 Camino Alto, 
Mill Valley, CA. Peace be with you.

Published in Idaho Statesman on December 11, 2009