ELIZABETH M. CAHILL, 79, N.J.'S FORMER FIRST LADY
Elizabeth M. Cahill , 79, New Jersey's first lady from 1970 to 1974 and the heart of a big Collingswood family for most of her life, died Wednesday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after a brief illness.
When her husband, lawyer William T. Cahill , became governor in 1970, Mrs. Cahill allowed the spotlight to focus on him, her children remembered.
But in the big home on Park Avenue in Collingswood, Mrs. Cahill was at the center of the action - and there was a lot of it.
The Cahills' eight children were born within 14 years of each other, starting two years after William and Elizabeth's 1941 marriage. The children were all raised in Collingswood, where Mrs. Cahill was born and where she stayed until the move to the governor's mansion in Princeton.
The Park Avenue home, filled with children, had six bedrooms and three baths. At times, its population expanded with the arrival of in-laws, whom Mrs. Cahill cared for in their old age.
She handled it all with aplomb, her son William Jr. said.
"She was constantly making an endless stream of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, running kids to and from school and practices and emergency rooms in hospitals," her son said. "She was a fight referee. She was everything. She was a great lady."
Mrs. Cahill graduated in 1930 from Camden Catholic High School and attended Peirce Business School.
She was an administrative assistant to a vice president of Camden Trust Bank until her marriage.
As the Cahill family expanded, so did Mr. Cahill 's career in Republican politics.
"I know she was enormously proud of his achievements in life," her son said. "I think that she always felt that it was tough for him" to be kept away from home by the demands of political life, he said.
Once Mr. Cahill became governor, the state's attention focused on the family, but Mrs. Cahill managed to stay off center stage. She was named honorary chairwoman of several charitable campaigns, but the media paid little attention to her otherwise.
"I always thought she handled it (politics) with quiet gracefulness," her son said. "She pretty much stayed in the background and took care of her family, and never got too caught up in the political circuit."
When Gov. Cahill left office, the couple stayed in Princeton for a while, then moved to Haddonfield and back to their South Jersey roots.
Mrs. Cahill is survived by her husband; daughters, Kathleen Tully of Haddonfield, Mary E. of Washington, Regina Blake Keeley of Potomac, Md., Teresa of Boston, and Eileen Campbell of Merchantville; sons, William T. Jr. and John P., both of Collingswood; thirteen grandchildren, and a brother.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Roman Catholic Church of Christ the King, Windsor Avenue and Wood Lane, Haddonfield. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill .
The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1991 Author/Byline: Douglas A. Campbell, Inquirer Staff Writer
Elizabeth M. Cahill , 79, New Jersey's first lady from 1970 to 1974 and the heart of a big Collingswood family for most of her life, died Wednesday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after a brief illness.
When her husband, lawyer William T. Cahill , became governor in 1970, Mrs. Cahill allowed the spotlight to focus on him, her children remembered.
But in the big home on Park Avenue in Collingswood, Mrs. Cahill was at the center of the action - and there was a lot of it.
The Cahills' eight children were born within 14 years of each other, starting two years after William and Elizabeth's 1941 marriage. The children were all raised in Collingswood, where Mrs. Cahill was born and where she stayed until the move to the governor's mansion in Princeton.
The Park Avenue home, filled with children, had six bedrooms and three baths. At times, its population expanded with the arrival of in-laws, whom Mrs. Cahill cared for in their old age.
She handled it all with aplomb, her son William Jr. said.
"She was constantly making an endless stream of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, running kids to and from school and practices and emergency rooms in hospitals," her son said. "She was a fight referee. She was everything. She was a great lady."
Mrs. Cahill graduated in 1930 from Camden Catholic High School and attended Peirce Business School.
She was an administrative assistant to a vice president of Camden Trust Bank until her marriage.
As the Cahill family expanded, so did Mr. Cahill 's career in Republican politics.
"I know she was enormously proud of his achievements in life," her son said. "I think that she always felt that it was tough for him" to be kept away from home by the demands of political life, he said.
Once Mr. Cahill became governor, the state's attention focused on the family, but Mrs. Cahill managed to stay off center stage. She was named honorary chairwoman of several charitable campaigns, but the media paid little attention to her otherwise.
"I always thought she handled it (politics) with quiet gracefulness," her son said. "She pretty much stayed in the background and took care of her family, and never got too caught up in the political circuit."
When Gov. Cahill left office, the couple stayed in Princeton for a while, then moved to Haddonfield and back to their South Jersey roots.
Mrs. Cahill is survived by her husband; daughters, Kathleen Tully of Haddonfield, Mary E. of Washington, Regina Blake Keeley of Potomac, Md., Teresa of Boston, and Eileen Campbell of Merchantville; sons, William T. Jr. and John P., both of Collingswood; thirteen grandchildren, and a brother.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Roman Catholic Church of Christ the King, Windsor Avenue and Wood Lane, Haddonfield. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill .
The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1991 Author/Byline: Douglas A. Campbell, Inquirer Staff Writer
ELIZABETH M. CAHILL, 79, N.J.'S FORMER FIRST LADY
Elizabeth M. Cahill , 79, New Jersey's first lady from 1970 to 1974 and the heart of a big Collingswood family for most of her life, died Wednesday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after a brief illness.
When her husband, lawyer William T. Cahill , became governor in 1970, Mrs. Cahill allowed the spotlight to focus on him, her children remembered.
But in the big home on Park Avenue in Collingswood, Mrs. Cahill was at the center of the action - and there was a lot of it.
The Cahills' eight children were born within 14 years of each other, starting two years after William and Elizabeth's 1941 marriage. The children were all raised in Collingswood, where Mrs. Cahill was born and where she stayed until the move to the governor's mansion in Princeton.
The Park Avenue home, filled with children, had six bedrooms and three baths. At times, its population expanded with the arrival of in-laws, whom Mrs. Cahill cared for in their old age.
She handled it all with aplomb, her son William Jr. said.
"She was constantly making an endless stream of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, running kids to and from school and practices and emergency rooms in hospitals," her son said. "She was a fight referee. She was everything. She was a great lady."
Mrs. Cahill graduated in 1930 from Camden Catholic High School and attended Peirce Business School.
She was an administrative assistant to a vice president of Camden Trust Bank until her marriage.
As the Cahill family expanded, so did Mr. Cahill 's career in Republican politics.
"I know she was enormously proud of his achievements in life," her son said. "I think that she always felt that it was tough for him" to be kept away from home by the demands of political life, he said.
Once Mr. Cahill became governor, the state's attention focused on the family, but Mrs. Cahill managed to stay off center stage. She was named honorary chairwoman of several charitable campaigns, but the media paid little attention to her otherwise.
"I always thought she handled it (politics) with quiet gracefulness," her son said. "She pretty much stayed in the background and took care of her family, and never got too caught up in the political circuit."
When Gov. Cahill left office, the couple stayed in Princeton for a while, then moved to Haddonfield and back to their South Jersey roots.
Mrs. Cahill is survived by her husband; daughters, Kathleen Tully of Haddonfield, Mary E. of Washington, Regina Blake Keeley of Potomac, Md., Teresa of Boston, and Eileen Campbell of Merchantville; sons, William T. Jr. and John P., both of Collingswood; thirteen grandchildren, and a brother.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Roman Catholic Church of Christ the King, Windsor Avenue and Wood Lane, Haddonfield. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill .
The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1991 Author/Byline: Douglas A. Campbell, Inquirer Staff Writer
Elizabeth M. Cahill , 79, New Jersey's first lady from 1970 to 1974 and the heart of a big Collingswood family for most of her life, died Wednesday at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital after a brief illness.
When her husband, lawyer William T. Cahill , became governor in 1970, Mrs. Cahill allowed the spotlight to focus on him, her children remembered.
But in the big home on Park Avenue in Collingswood, Mrs. Cahill was at the center of the action - and there was a lot of it.
The Cahills' eight children were born within 14 years of each other, starting two years after William and Elizabeth's 1941 marriage. The children were all raised in Collingswood, where Mrs. Cahill was born and where she stayed until the move to the governor's mansion in Princeton.
The Park Avenue home, filled with children, had six bedrooms and three baths. At times, its population expanded with the arrival of in-laws, whom Mrs. Cahill cared for in their old age.
She handled it all with aplomb, her son William Jr. said.
"She was constantly making an endless stream of breakfasts, lunches and dinners, running kids to and from school and practices and emergency rooms in hospitals," her son said. "She was a fight referee. She was everything. She was a great lady."
Mrs. Cahill graduated in 1930 from Camden Catholic High School and attended Peirce Business School.
She was an administrative assistant to a vice president of Camden Trust Bank until her marriage.
As the Cahill family expanded, so did Mr. Cahill 's career in Republican politics.
"I know she was enormously proud of his achievements in life," her son said. "I think that she always felt that it was tough for him" to be kept away from home by the demands of political life, he said.
Once Mr. Cahill became governor, the state's attention focused on the family, but Mrs. Cahill managed to stay off center stage. She was named honorary chairwoman of several charitable campaigns, but the media paid little attention to her otherwise.
"I always thought she handled it (politics) with quiet gracefulness," her son said. "She pretty much stayed in the background and took care of her family, and never got too caught up in the political circuit."
When Gov. Cahill left office, the couple stayed in Princeton for a while, then moved to Haddonfield and back to their South Jersey roots.
Mrs. Cahill is survived by her husband; daughters, Kathleen Tully of Haddonfield, Mary E. of Washington, Regina Blake Keeley of Potomac, Md., Teresa of Boston, and Eileen Campbell of Merchantville; sons, William T. Jr. and John P., both of Collingswood; thirteen grandchildren, and a brother.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the Roman Catholic Church of Christ the King, Windsor Avenue and Wood Lane, Haddonfield. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery, Cherry Hill .
The Philadelphia Inquirer, November 1, 1991 Author/Byline: Douglas A. Campbell, Inquirer Staff Writer
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