NAVARRE, Fla. – Kathleen Mildred “Dukie” (Keenan) Romasco, 71, died after a five-year battle with cancer on Nov. 16, 2023, in her daughter’s home in Florida surrounded by loved ones. She was born Dec. 9, 1951, in Portland the daughter of the late Kevin C. and Mary D. (Poor) Keenan.

Kate attended South Portland High School. During her high school career, she married her office crush, Hank A. Caiazzo. The two of them had a son, Chris J. Caiazzo. When that young love didn’t survive, she later married Gary J. Romasco. Together they had two daughters, Laura E. Romasco and Susan A. Romasco and were married until his death in 1999.

For her whole life, Kate had a love of music inspired by her family’s past time of sitting around together, strumming the guitar, and singing songs boisterously in her parents’ living room during holidays, barbeques, or Sunday dinners. Her family became infamous for never being able to finish a song, either messing up a chord or a lyric! Even up until her end, you could see her tapping her foot or singing along to a favorite song on the radio on her way to a doctor’s appointment!

Her favorite place as a child was T-Ledge. At the age of 12 she was caught sneaking onto the property to feed the horses carrots. She quickly negotiated free riding lessons for mucking stalls and caring for the horses. At the age of 23 she briefly owned her own horse, Shawnees Midnight Firefly, a black, American Saddlebred with a white spot on her chest. Next to her children and grandchildren she often referred to this horse as her pride and joy!

Kate had a fierce work ethic. She held her first job at the age of 9 on Larrabees farm in Scarborough picking string beans, red beans, and strawberries. By the age of 12 she was on the “big” crew, out picking all the boys and harvesting lettuce. In her adult life she bartended and did a stint at Hannaford Corporate before finding homes at Jensen Baird Gardener and Henry and finally at Drummond Woodsum where she stayed until her retirement as a paralegal.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her former husbands Hank Caiazzo and Gary Romasco; her sister-in-law, Barbera Keenan, her brother-in-law, Christopher Luck and brother, David Keenan.

She is survived by her son, Christopher Caiazzo and his wife, Beth of Scarborough, her daughter, Laura Romasco and her husband Brandon Ferrante of Falmouth, her daughter, Susan Romasco-Jones (one of her caretakers in the end) and her husband Nick Jones of Navarre, Fla.; seven grandsons (who were her light and reason for fighting) Joshua Caiazzo, Justin Caiazzo, Nicholas Jones, Henry Jones, Thomas Jones, Landon Ferrante, Lincoln Ferrante; her sister-in-law, Patty Keenan, her brother, Dan Keenan, her sister, Susan Ferrante and her husband David Ferrante, her sister, Erin Luck (also one of her caretakers in the end, who was a gift to Kate’s children…we couldn’t have done this without you) and her husband Malcolm Coulter, her brother, Mike Keenan and his wife Kathy Keenan; and countless nieces, nephews, cousins and in-laws. The greatest gift that Dukie left us with was a big family and the village that helped to raise us!

Visiting hours will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday Dec. 27, at A.T. Hutchins Funeral Home, 660 Brighton Ave., Portland, A Funeral Mass will be celebrated 10 a.m. Thursday Dec. 28, at St. Peters Catholic Church, 72 Federal St.

The family requests in lieu of flowers, donations be made to METAvivor Research and Support at Donate to METAvivor.

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