Morristown K of C to honor Kathleen Hyland for her work with ArcMorris, Oct. 5

Kathleen Hyland has been lending a hand to people who are a little “different” ever since she was in the 5th grade at the Alfred Vail School.

Kids were mean to her classmate Bobby, who had what these days would be called an intellectual disability.

“I used to walk him to class, and walk him home,” recounted Hyland.

Decades later, Hyland’s compassion continues. For the last 17 years, she has served on the board of ArcMorris, a Morris Plains-based nonprofit that provides services and operates group homes and job centers for people like Bobby.

Hyland’s service will be recognized this Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Morristown’s George Washington Council of the Knights of Columbus.

A 5:30 p.m. Mass will be celebrated at Assumption Church by the Bishop of Paterson, the Most Reverend Kevin Sweeney. Dinner will follow at the Spring Brook Country Club in Morris Township.

The K of C’s 10th annual Mass and Dinner of Appreciation also will honor Ken Kramer as Knight of the Year and Jim Koons as Outstanding Ambassador.

Tickets are $175, with proceeds benefiting 25 area nonprofits supported by the Knights, said spokesman William Burke. These charities include religious, educational, special needs, domestic violence, and food insecurity/homelessness organizations, he said.

Past dinners have recognized first responders, health care workers and educators.

Kramer, who works in finance, leads the Knights’ annual Turkey Toss, providing Thanksgiving meals to those in need, in partnership with the Interfaith Food Pantry and St. Margaret’s Church. He also has volunteered with Nourish NJ, Table of Hope, the PG Chambers School, the Carmelites of Morristown, and the Loyola Jesuit Center.

Koons, a Marine Corps veteran, is commander of American Legion Post 59 in Morristown. In addition to helping veterans in need, he is a Green Village volunteer fireman, and a pioneering member of the Morristown Rotary. Playing Santa Claus, he cheers children at JBWS, a nonprofit assisting victims of domestic violence. He also is active as a troop leader/badge counselor for the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, has coached fencing at Rutgers University, and has acted as a horse whisperer at events for children with special needs, according to a bio from the K of C.

Hyland, a former mayor of Morris Township, ran Ginty’s Irish Gifts in Morristown for three decades. She also coached generations of girls in softball and basketball, and helped start First Night Morris, the family friendly New Year’s Eve event. In 1998, Hyland was Grand Marshal of the Morris County St. Patrick’s Parade.

She succeeded her late husband Patric as a trustee of ArcMorris. She said the Knights’ Lifetime Achievement award took her by surprise.

“I feel like I got my reward by just doing these things. It makes you feel good,” she said of her volunteer work.

Hyland celebrated her 85th birthday last month, and is in no hurry to slow down.

“That’s what keeps you going– being involved. Especially with something like this, where you feel really good inside.”