Katherine Ann McSorley, beloved mother and grandmother and a deeply committed friend to many, died at age 95 on August 2, 2025, in Lawrenceville, NJ.

She was born Katherine Sandman in Philadelphia to Leo and Katherine (Nolan) Sandman, and attended St. Benedict and St. Athanasius Schools.  She graduated from Little Flower High School in Philadelphia in 1947 where she played the saxophone in the band.

In 1954 she married Paul Leo McSorley, then serving in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve as a JAG officer and later a Philadelphia lawyer and civic official. For more than two decades, they raised their seven children in the Fox Chase neighborhood of Philadelphia, where Katherine made many friendships that she maintained throughout her life.

For more than 20 years, Katherine worked for Cheltenham Savings Bank (and then for its multiple successor institutions) as a receptionist, where her openness and warmth with new people had a chance to shine with the general public. In retirement she lived in Philadelphia and later in Yardley, PA, dedicating herself to her connections with friends and relatives, and hosting festive and noisy monthly dinners for her children and their families.

The great joy of her life was her seven children, 13 grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. But her love and caring extended to a much larger circle, including many younger people who over the years came to think of her in the same way as their own mother or grandmother.

She was well known for generous hospitality to old and new friends alike, serving large portions with lots of joy and laughter; for her love of family dinners and conversation; and for an optimism that created what one of her friends called “a sea of positivity.” She was a dedicated parishioner at St. Cecilia’s in Fox Chase and then St. Ignatius of Antioch in Yardley where she attended daily mass and weekly Eucharistic Adoration.  She was a loyal supporter of many Catholic and faith-based causes.

Katherine was preceded in death by her former husband and her sister, Marie (Sandman) Valvardi of Springfield, PA. She is survived by her children Suzanne McSorley (and husband Thomas Baker) of Princeton Junction, NJ; William McSorley (and wife Carolyn Dixon) of Lebanon, PA; Thomas McSorley (and wife Donna) of Warminster, PA; Andrew McSorley (and wife Ann Chwalek) of Baldwinsville, NY; Paul McSorley, Jr. (and wife Janine Doyle) of Philadelphia; Daniel McSorley (and wife Lori) of Hilton, NY; and Mary McSorley (and husband Ronald Yake) of Yardley, PA.

The funeral mass will be celbrated on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at 11:00am at St. Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church 999 Reading Avenue Yardley, PA 19067.  Interment will take place on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, at 11:00am at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, PA.  Calling hours will be held on Monday, August 11, 2025, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at the FitzGerald-Sommer Funeral Home 17 S. Delaware Avenue Yardley, PA 19067, and again on Tuesday morning from 10:00am to 11:00am at the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Katherine’s memory can be made to Catholic Charities of Philadelphia or to St. Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church in Yardley, PA.

Condolences for the family can be left at www.fitzgeraldsommerfuneralhome.com.