It is with deep sadness we announce that Darina Mary Treacy Kavanagh passed away on August 20th 2025, after a long illness due to cancer. She was a private person with an inner calm and strength with a sense of style, fun, and adventure. She had many accomplishments in her life as a Nurse, Wife, Mother, Executive, and Friend. She was highly regarded as a guiding light for those who knew her and her counsel will be missed dearly.

Darina was born in Carlow, Ireland. She grew up on a farm in Fontstown, County Kildare, the second eldest of 12 children of Cecil and Reiltin Treacy. She was trained as a Nurse in St. Vincents University Hospital Dublin run by the Sisters of Charity. She then spent 18 months at the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston in the liver transplant unit. Afterwards, she moved to London to join her future spouse Paul, whom she had met in Dublin and maintained a long-distance relationship with throughout her time in Boston. Paul and Darina were married in 1990 at Kilmeade Church in Ireland. While living in London, Darina attained her B.Sc in Nursing from the Royal College of Nursing and worked at Princess Grace Hospital as a Nurse Manager.

In 1995, Darina and Paul moved to Sunnyvale, CA, which became their permanent home. The move was shortly followed by the birth of three beautiful children, Maeve (1997), Katrina (1999), and Zeke (2002).

She was hired to work at San Jose Medical Center shortly after it had changed ownership to HCA Healthcare. Here Darina worked as a Nurse Manager in the Med Surg Unit and was involved in transforming the nursing operations from a non-profit to a for-profit hospital. She worked with many experienced nurses and administrators during this period and was recognized for her talent as a Nurse and Administrator. Darina was indispensable as the Assistant Chief Nurse at San Jose Medical Center while it underwent significant change. During this period, she was raising three young children and completing a master’s degree in Nursing Administration from San Jose State University. She was soon promoted to Chief Nurse at Regional Medical Center. She led by example with high professional and personal expectations of herself and those around her. She achieved this by combining intelligence and problem solving with decisiveness and diplomacy. Her ability to absorb new information quickly for work and academic purposes was notable. After a number of years she was asked to join another HCA facility, Good Samaritan, as Chief Nurse, where she was appointed to the hospital board and collaborated with many groups within the hospital and the community. Her contributions were recognized with an HCA Excellence award presented to her in Nashville. She pursued and graduated with a Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) from the college of nursing jointly awarded by San Jose State University and Fresno State. In 2018, she moved to Kaiser Oakland Medical Center where she joined as Chief Nurse responsible for the Oakland and Richmond facilities. She introduced nursing best practices and gained the trust of the senior management, direct reports and staff in her four years in the role.

Darina enjoyed quiet downtime and liked to sit in the back garden listening to songbirds. She was an avid reader and patron of the local library. She prioritized a healthy lifestyle, hiking at Rancho San Antonio when well and staying active in her final months by attending Yoga classes. She liked to cook, often considering it therapy with a wonderful ability to whip up tasty dishes. With her natural instincts as a mother, the loves of her life were her husband and children who were her priority. Trips to Half Moon Bay, 17 Mile Drive, and Carmel were family staples over the years enjoying the sea, wind, and sand during walks and talks. The family travelled throughout Europe as extensions of visits to Ireland to the see the extended Treacy family. An Alaskan cruise was the most recent family trip which she planned and was determined to pull off. She did was successful in achieving this and it will be a treasured memory.

She made many loyal friends over the years. Darina enjoyed meeting up for coffee, meals and parties to have chats and a laugh. She was an active listener and provided valued advice when called upon. Darina’s Catholic faith was a source of great strength. Her children attended Resurrection Parish School and she was an integral member of the community, volunteering at School and assisting the Church after weekly mass, at larger fundraisers and other gatherings. Darina prayed nightly and attended mass every Sunday in Church or remotely, subject to her health. She enjoyed a range of podcasts including The Vatican Inside by the Pope.

Her friends were there for her throughout her long illness and unfailingly provided support. She herself always put her best foot forward through her many health ups and downs maintaining a positive outlook. From her initial diagnosis Darina’s siblings travelled regularly from Ireland to see her and provided tangible support.

Darina is survived by her husband Paul; her three children Maeve, Katrina and Zeke. Pre-deceased by her parents Cecil and Reiltin Treacy, Sister to Kate, John, Kevin, Colm, Melanie, Aisling, Owen, Reiltin, Ruth, Naomi and Roxanne; and her Kavanagh in-laws, Jim, Karl, Joanne, Julian, and their spouses.

2 Timothy 4:7:

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith”.

A memorial mass will be held at Resurrection Church, 1399 Hollenbeck Ave, Sunnyvale, 94087 on Saturday August 23rd at 12 Noon.

In lieu of flowers, donations please to the American Cancer Society at https:\\donate.cancer.org  

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