CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

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f there was any single tie that bound the Keefe family together,

other than religion, it would be bridge. Growing up, some of

Kathleen’s earliest memories were playing bridge around the kitchen table. Playing bridge was as customary as saying the rosary, and each member of the family learned to play variations of the game like duplicate bridge, honeymoon bridge and three—handed bridge. Often there would be several tables of bridge and other card games being played at the same time.

Kathleen began playing bridge at the age of eight. As a girl, she played

in the kitchen of the Keefe home in Kinkora, and continued to play throughout her university years. During the 1960s, when her own family was young, she played infrequently, but later resumed active playing, both with friends on a regular basis and in tournaments. Kathleen eventually became one of Prince Edward Island’s most prominent duplicate bridge players. She achieved the second—highest number of points ever by a bridge player in Prince Edward Island, and the highly—sought designation as life master, putting her in the top echelons of bridge in the province.

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