Kathleen M. (King) Sweeny

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Kathleen Marie Sweeny who passed
away on Sunday, September 20, 2020. She was born in Toledo, Ohio, daughter of the late
Edward and Lizzette (Schmitt) King and was the beloved wife of late Raymond Melville
Sweeny. Kathy was the loving mother of two sons Bob (Fiancée Jennifer Mealey;
grandchildren Alyssa, Sadie, Dustin Jr., Emma and great-grandson Giovanni); John
Sweeny and loveable dog Zoey. Kathy was one of eight children and she is survived by
siblings; Peggy Henry, Marsha Thorburn, Joe King, Phil King (Vicki), and preceded in death
by; Mary Ide, Jim King (Cheryl) and Al King. She is survived by many nieces and nephews
who she loved and adored.

Kathy graduated from Toledo Central Catholic High School in 1960 and shortly after
graduating she met and married Raymond Sweeny. They settled down in West Toledo,
Ohio where they raised two boys. Kathy worked at several jobs but especially enjoyed
working at AP Conveyer as an executive secretary for Dick Dooley and at Sojourner’s Truth
newspaper as a graphic artist for Kevin and Becky McQueen. Dick, Kevin and Becky
remained some of her closest friends after she retired. She would tell people that Kevin was
her third son and how he welcomed her into his family which included Becky, Kayla,
Madison, Allison and Micah.

Kathy took several computer classes at the University of Toledo after she retired and found
work as a bookkeeper and graphic artist. She enjoyed anything that had to do with the
iPad, iPhone and computers and could be found sitting on the couch at night looking for
deals on Amazon, surfing the internet or working a puzzle. Kathy also liked playing the
World of Warcraft (WOW) with her sons and provided backup support as a mage or hunter
when they were doing dungeon runs. Keep in mind, she was 62 years old when she played
WOW. She always laughed about the time we monopolized the wool market on the
Staghelm server and charged people the unbelievable price of 22 gold for a bundle of wool.
She would then, unbeknownst to my brother and I, walk around the town after we logged off
and give the new players the gold profits we made in the market. She said it made her feel
rich and she loved helping other players out.

Kathy fostered dogs and wanted to keep every one of them that was assigned to her care.
She would first call and say that the new dogs were driving her crazy, then she would call a
week or two later and say that she couldn’t give any of them up for adoption. Kathy
especially loved going on walks with her dog Zoey and was so concerned that the cars
couldn’t see Zoey that she bought her a rechargeable LED dog collar light.
Kathy liked doing arts and crafts with her friends and she became quite proficient in quilting
and she made trick or treat bags for her grandkids and quilts for her friends and families.
She also played board and card games, such as Ticket to Ride, Splendor, Rummikub,
Sticks, Skip Bo and Euchre with her friends; Judy Hansen, Sally Daniel, Diana Newland and
Cheryl Leiter, and family members; Peggy Henry and Catherine Robinette. People found it
difficult to play Euchre with her because she called trump whether she had it in her hand or
not which drove her partners crazy. Her competition and teammates would agree that she
hated losing as much as she loved winning. She also had dear friends that didn’t play
games, probably because she was either a bad winner or loser, who held a special place in her heart and they include; Nancy Mealey, Starr Stamp, Jerry Hansen, Rick Newland, Gaye
Mattimore, Doug Jones, Joann Carter, Cheryl King, Gary Kocher, Kelly Dilworth, Denny
Pickett, Dean Pickett, Carie Wagoner, Cindy Scott, Megan Scott and her friends in Michigan
Peggy and Donny.

Kathy watched Frasier and she would tell you that she liked the episodes before Niles and
Daphne got together. She was also a big fan of Big Brother, Survivor, Dr. Phil and Northern
Exposure. She loved Chandler on Friends but who didn’t love Chandler? She especially
enjoyed watching Hallmark during the holidays with Jenn and Nancy and they would all
laugh at the occupations of the characters and the towns where they lived.
Kathy was an active gardener and planted flowers in her front yard and pumpkins and
gourds in her back yard. Though she was never able to find out why powdery mildew grew
on her pumpkins or how to dry out her gourds to make bird houses, it didn’t detour her from
trying next year.

She loved eating at Smokey Bones, Mayberry Diner, Texas Roadhouse, Applebees, Jo-Jo’s
Pizza and picking up fountain Cokes from McDonalds. Her favorite snack foods consisted of
cheeseballs, any candy and ice cream. When asked what was her favorite flavor of ice
cream she would tell you, “All of them.”

Kathy was an huge fan of The Ohio State Buckeyes and Florida State Seminoles. She
never missed watching the Ohio State/University of Michigan football game and she could
tell you the final score even if you caught her napping during the game. Some people would
claim that taking a nap was her favorite sporting event when she attempted to watch a
game on tv.

Kathy was adored by her friends and family and while she will surely be missed, we rejoice
that she is with Jesus and looking down on us with love and support. Her sense of humor,
compassion for us and love of life are what made the long days short and the bad days
good and those are the things that made her so special to all of us.

We would also like to thank Danita Mealey, Tara (hospice nurse) and Milly (hospice aide).
These three ladies were invaluable in providing the love and care that our mom needed
during her final days and we cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for
her and us. They are truly angels sent from above. We would like to thank Tower Health at
Home for their guidance and compassion during this time. This is a wonderful organization
and we would highly recommend them to anyone.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the family will not be holding a memorial service.
Instead, a celebration of her life will be held on the one year anniversary of her passing. The
family will notify everyone once the arrangements are finalized.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Kathleen M. (King) Sweeny, please visit our floral store.