Arrangements in conjunction with the passing of Bedford’s Kathy Benuck have been published by the family, as has the obituary.  The wake will be held at the Cautadella Funeral Home 126 Pleasant Valley St Methuen, MA 01844  TODAY, Monday June 7 from 4 PM to 8 PM.  The Funeral Mass will be at St. Michael’s Parish, 195 Main St., North Andover, MA. 01845, tomorrow, June 08 at 10 AM.  Note:  Both links above go to pages with directions.

Here is Kathy’s Obituary as published on the funeral home’s Web site.

Obituary for Kathleen M Pappalardo- Benuck

 

Kathy Benuck

Kathy Benuck

Kathy (Elwood) (Pappalardo) Benuck of Bedford, NH died on July 2, 2014 at Community Hospice House with her husband by her side after a particular difficult four month period in her almost two year fight with cancer. She had previously prevailed over two other cancer occurrences. 


Born Kathleen M. Elwood to the late Margaret (Lynch) and William Elwood of Lawrence, MA, she was also the granddaughter of the laet Mary (Murphy) and Patrick Lynch, and of Catherine (Holloran) and Thomas Elwood. 


An honor graduate of St. Mary’s High School in Lawrence, she maintained consecutive Dean’s List status while pursuing double majors at Northern Essex Community College in Nursing and Liberal Arts, and then was a student of the highest honor while obtaining a B.S. degree in Organizational Behavior from Lesley University School of Business and Industry. 


During her early 20’s and while the mom of toddlers, Kathy got interested in Lawrence politics at a time when the city was in a complete political turmoil. She mounted several successful citywide citizens’ petition efforts and initiated several citywide projects on such diverse subjects as drug education in the schools, exposing corruption in the city run ambulance service and widespread slumlord housing. She continued to expose governmental corruption via almost daily radio broadcasts, and her efforts ultimately attracted national media attention that included two appearances on the national ABC tv evening news. An ABC news department series on her political activities was also filmed by a camera crew who were assigned to follow her around a full week. Her political activities ultimately led her to being a record-breaking candidate for a major city office in a wild city election in which she defeated 14 political heavy weights as a newcomer at the age of 24. 


Not wanting to hold political office while her children were in grade school, Kathy transitioned into doing policy research for candidates throughout MA, and to managing city political campaigns around the state, and led a wide number of grassroots community projects. She then spent several years in business nonprofit management and legislation affairs and was a registered lobbyist in all six New England states. Among her most prestigious positions was serving for nearly 10 years as Northeast Regional Director for Highway Users Federation, and as Executive Director and Legislative Director for the six-state NEACA.


Many of Kathy’s positions required a vast amount of media work, as she was the author of several publications, served as editor of numerous business and industry newsletters, and had a weekly Greater Boston column on MA legislative issues. With her husband Jerry, the two founded and operated three commercial printing and commercial photography companies, and through the businesses, Kathy served as a contracted writer for many state, regional and national corporations and industries. Jerry was highly regarded for his design and photography work on a number of highly recognizable and successful national media campaigns, so they quickly realized his artistic photography was also highly in demand. Consequently, an artistic branch of their commercial photography business was born, and Jerry’s work became well-published in a number of material publications and his spectacular cityscapes and landscapes were the subject of many, many one-man shows in prestigious New York and Boston galleries. This led to a lecturing business that spawned from teaching photography to public school students to conducting workshops for professional artists and photographers. His work in part of several private and museum collections. 


After moving to Bedford, NH in early 1997 from MA, the couple consolidated their business interests into JK Design, a full-service website design, service and Management Company that also provides professional writing services, commercial photography and collateral materials. Kathy has been the principal writer for the company, and has published two organizational books under her own title. 


In 2011, Kathy became the Executive Producer and host of the television show “Tell It Like It Is” which while still taped at BCTV in Bedford, NH has attracted viewers from throughout the state as well as a national audience because of its in-depth series on controversial issues and pithy interview with political candidates on the local, county, state and national levels. She was chosen as BCTV’s 2013 Producer of the Year, and was quickly reaching the completion of 200 shows under the titles of “Tell It Like It Is,” “Tell It Like It Is with Public Officials,” and “Just Sayin’.” The show has a website on which well over 140 shows are posted a twww.tellitlikeitisnh.com. Kathy has also been a blogger for NH Patch since its launch date in June 2011. At their annual banquet in 2013, the NH Press Association voted her blog as one of the top three in NH, an honor she deeply appreciated receiving from the working press. 


Throughout their years together, Jerry and Kathy worked on a wide swath of charitable and children-related activities, most especially those related to the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Members of Shriners organizations in both MA and NH, they were both familiar faces at fundraising, parades, circuses, rodeos, and haunted houses. They also supported numerous arts and literacy organizations throughout New England and made cameo appearances in the North Shore Music Theatric production “Damn Yankees” which starred actor Jamie Farr of televsion’s “Mash” fame. Their interests were diverse enough to include membership in the Marblehead, MA Sailing Club.

Kathy was involved in a number of activities in Bedford. She has served on the Board of Overseers of BCTV (Bedford Community Television), and on the Board of Directors of the Bedford Highway Safety Committee. She is a member and served on the Board of Directors of the Bedford Women’s Club and coordinated their highly successful “Breakfast with Santa” in 2009. She’s a member of the Bedford Garden Club and the Friends of the Bedford Public Library, the Bedford Republican Committee, the Hillsborough County Republican Committee, and in 2013, was elected as state delegate to the NH State Republican Committee. For several years she worked as a volunteer elections clerk at the Bedford polls, and also served on the Bedford Schools Department’s Fees Study Committee. She was also a substitute teacher at the Ross A. Lugio School. She also initiated the fundraising drive for the “Are You Okay” program at the Bedford Police Department. 


The most important part of Kathy Benuck’s life in her own words was her family, and her only regret at the end of her life was not being able to spend a longer life with them. The prolonged medical struggle was embarked upon only to gain much additional time with them as God would grant. 


She leaves behind her beloved husband, Jerry Benuck with whom she shared 36 wonderful years of fun and challenges. She also leaves her deeply beloved sons A. William Pappalardo of Fremont, NH, John Pappalardo of Methuen, MA, and Methuen Police Lieutenant Michael J. Pappalardo of Methuen, MA and his wife the former Carina LaScola. Michael and Carina further blessed the family with three grandchildren, Francesca, Michael and Robert. Kathy was preceded in death by a daughter Ann Margaret Pappalardo, and a son M.J. Pappalardo. A lifelong animal lover, Kathy leaves behind her puppy, Walter. 


Other immediate family members are a brother Dr. Thomas Elwood of Washington, D.C., a sister-in-law Dr. Patricia Elwood of Washington, D.C., nephews Robert Elwood, his wife and two sons of Annapolis, MD, and Dr. Douglas Elwood, his wife and two sons of Princeton, NJ. Relatives of the Benuck side of the family are in the Midwest and Northeast.