Kathleen “Kay” Collins Duff, passed away peacefully at the Governor’s House in Simsbury, CT on Monday, September 26, 2022.

Kay was born on July 11, 1935, in County Cork, Ireland to Maurice and Catherine Collins. When she was 19 years old, she made her way to the USA. Not long after her sisters Nuala Trudy and her brother Denis Collins and her mother Catherine Collins joined her on this side of the pond.

Kay was pre-deceased by her husband Charles G. Swanson and her second husband Thomas A. Duff.

Kathleen is survived by her daughter, Kim Gencarelli and husband Angelo; grandson, Christopher Rajotte and his wife Danielle Green; sons Gregory C. Swanson and Douglass B. Swanson and his partner Lisa Condit; sisters, Nuala Dunne and her husband Mike, and Trudy Pawlich, husband Ernie and their daughter Jennifer. She also leaves behind many relatives in Ireland that she loved and missed beyond words.

Kay was passionate about many things. She loved to cook and bake and was never afraid to try something new. She had a green thumb when it came to gardening. Painting was also something Kay enjoyed. She was self-taught and became a very skilled artist creating many wonderful paintings. She loved birds and the ocean and often used them in her creations. Kay was lucky to have had the opportunity to travel to many places around the world learning and embracing every culture for its uniqueness and became very knowledgeable in every place she had visited. Her greatest passion was antiques, she had an uncanny understanding of many types of antiques. She was also the one who started the long running “Farmington Antiques Weekend” at the Farmington Polo Grounds. An avid collector she turned it into a successful lucrative business and adventure.

Her other passion later in life was the stock market. She learned everything she could about it. You could find her sitting in front of the TV with her computer in her lap all day every day! She knew all the symbols of all the companies and traded stocks regularly.

She was a strong, intelligent self-made woman and we will miss you more than words can say.

We would like to thank all the loving staff at the Governor’s House in Simsbury for their loving care and attention to our mother over the past 4+ years. It was always wonderful to visit and hear the stories of mom that they shared with us, with love, laughter and gratitude. We slept well most nights knowing she was in the best of hands.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Church of St. Peter Claver, 47 Pleasant Street, West Hartford, on Monday, October 17 at 10AM. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery, West Hartford.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Kay’s memory may be made to the National Parkinson’s Foundation. Online condolences may be made at www.SheehanHilbornBreen.com