Barbara O'Flaherty

Barbara O'Flaherty joined the loving arms of God on May 7, 2015 after courageously facing an unforeseen and brief illness. Barbara was 75 years old, born to Frank and Mark (Hockery) Snitzmier on November 26, 1939 in Independence, Missouri. Barbara graduated from Loretto Academy. On August 19, 1961, she married Michael O'Flaherty. Mike and Barbara shared 54 eventful, fun filled and loving years of married life together. She loved her summers with her family in Colorado where the only thing that exceeded her ability to catch trout was to cook them. She loved going with Mike to various conferences and conventions where she saw many of the great cities and locations in America. She loved her trips to Hawaii and especially those to Europe where she saw most all of its great cities. She had a special fondness for Ireland. She and Mike made four trips there, but the top was when she "took her family" to the Emerald Isle.Barb was all about faith, family and friends.Faith: She and Mike were long time members of Visitation Catholic Church in Kansas City. She educated her children there, served on the School Board, proclaimed the word of God as a Lector and participated in the Ministry as a Eucharist Minister. She took Communion to the homebound. In later years, Barb and Mike relocated to South Kansas City and became members of St. Thomas More Parish while still maintain a relationship with Visitation. She was a member of the Ladies of Charity and a regular volunteer at the Seton Center.Family: Barbara was blessed with four children. Vince, Joe, Liz and Mike were her crowning achievements and the pride and joy of her life. Her daughters-in-law, Vince's Anne and Joe's Julie, were special to her in so many ways. She reveled in her grandchildren; Vince and Anne's Kate (Alex), Jack, Celia and Jeannie, and Joe and Julie's Tara and Casey.Friends: She loved her friends, be they the Dinner Club, her golfing buddies, her multiple bridge groups, her book club group, the old St. Teresa Academy crowd where she worked for ten years, or those certain special people (you know who you are) that were such an important part of her life.She is survived by her husband, Mike, who loved her dearly and deeply and who will miss her profoundly, her sister; Margaret Burdett of Henderson, Nevada, and many nieces and nephews.Visitation will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Thursday night May 14, 2015 at St. Thomas More, 11822 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:00 a.m. Friday May 15, 2015 at St. Thomas More.Barbara's family wishes to that the amazing doctors, staff and nurses at the Emergency Room, Fourth Floor and ICU Number 65 at KU Med and the Hospice House of Kansas City Hospice. You all should be proud of yourselves for the care you gave Barb.For those wishing to give memorials in Barb's name, the family suggests Seton Center, Kansas City Hospice and Palliative Care, St. Teresa's Academy or the charity of your choice.God be with you, Honey. We'll miss you but try to live as you would want us to live.