Kathy Larkin, former Newsday features writer, dies at 88

As a journalist, Kathy Larkin chronicled many happenings, including fashion and exclusive gatherings for The Daily News, as well as bridal items, home furnishing and more for Newsday.

The longtime Manhattan resident died June 1 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx after a recent cancer diagnosis, according to her niece Anne Marie Larkin, of Dutchess County. She was 88.

Kathy Larkin is remembered as a selfless and caring person who relished New York City living, often ready to take in Broadway shows, museums and restaurants with friends. She was a smart, organized journalist, family and former colleagues recall. To family, she was devoted, taking care of her mother and allowing her widowed sister to move in with her.

"She was a lovely person," her niece said. "She loved New York City."

Peggy Brown, a former editor at Newsday who sparked a friendship with Kathy Larkin while the two worked at the newspaper, said, "She was a delightful person and friend."

Born in 1937, Larkin was raised in New York City by her parents, Dr. Arthur G. Larkin and Mary Larkin.

She graduated in 1958 from Manhattanville College — now a university — with a degree in English and embarked on a journalism career, according to former colleagues and the university.

Bob Keane, a former managing editor at Newsday, recalled meeting Larkin at The Daily News in the 1960s.

He was a feature room clerk. Larkin, hired soon after college, was working in the women’s department while being groomed for larger roles.

Larkin, he said, eventually became a fashion editor at The Daily News.

"I never knew anybody to say a bad word about Kathy," Keane said.

Friends and family members said she would revel in telling stories about meeting celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor. Her work in The Daily News archives shows her covering nightclubs, such as Studio 54, and well-known personalities and fashion.

"She could name names, and she ... knew how to direct photographers to get, you know, pictures of the people that the paper most wanted," Keane said.

After freelancing, she began working at Newsday in 1996. During her time at the paper, she worked on the features news desk and in special sections.

She wrote on topics such as gardening on Long Island, distinctive weddings, including one with toy dolls on reception tables instead of centerpieces, and home furnishings, according to Newsday archives.

She was "a very smart person, very good reporter and writer, very organized and very charming," Brown said in a phone interview.

Brown distinctly remembers Larkin cruising into Newsday’s office in Melville from Manhattan in a 1964 red Ford Mustang. (The car ended up being destroyed in Superstorm Sandy.)

In the newsroom, Larkin became friends with Brown — a kinship that would continue even after Larkin retired in 2007.

Together, they took in shows like "Hamilton," which they had seen before the musical went to Broadway. It was one of Larkin’s favorite musicals. They sometimes attended a show and then had lunch at Sardi’s restaurant.

"She loved the theater, she loved Manhattan, she loved any kind of reporting and writing," Brown said. "She loved life."

In addition to her niece, Larkin is survived by her sister, Therese Karsch, of Manhattan, and several other nieces and nephews.

A funeral Mass was held at the Church of the Epiphany in Manhattan on June 11. Larkin was buried at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey.

By Tiffany Cusaac-Smith

tiffany.cusaac-smith@newsday.com@T_Cusaac

Tiffany Cusaac-Smith is a general assignment reporter for Newsday. She previously worked at USA TODAY and is an alum of Howard University.