Eileen K. DiPaolo, age 80, of Hackettstown died Monday, June 23, 2025 at Spring Hills, Somerset, NJ, under hospice care after a long illness.  Eileen was born June 25, 1944 in New Rochelle, NY. She is the daughter of the late Henry G. and Jean (Devitt) Kavanagh, Jr.  In addition to her parents, Eileen is preceded in death by her sister, Christine Kavanagh-Nigra.

Eileen went to high school in Bloomfield, NJ, and married her first husband, Patrick O’Rourke.  They had three children who grew up in the Caldwells.  Although their marriage didn’t last, she remained friends with him and his wife, Pam. Eileen married Joseph DiPaolo, and they had two wonderful children and lived for more than 41 years in a charming home overlooking the Musconetcong river.  Eileen loved more than anything to cook for and host family and friends.  She had the ability to taste a dish in a restaurant and to determine the ingredients so that she could make it.  She counted the days until she could get Donaldson’s corn and tomatoes.  If she met someone who didn’t have a place to go for the holidays, she always invited them to her gathering.  Some years, name tags would have been helpful.  Every Christmas, she had a traditional Christmas tree and another that was decorated with a different theme.  She loved to socialize and to laugh.  Eileen had an interest in real estate and had a license at one time.  She even remodeled a few homes. She could listen to a song and predict whether it would be a number one hit.  She was a voracious reader and almost always preferred the book to the movie adaptation and also was a terrific bridge player.   She had a lifelong love of animals, bred dogs, cats, and sugar gliders, and had many pets.  Her favorites were Siamese, Singapura and Devon Rex kitties.

Eileen is survived by and seriously missed by her husband and best friend,Joseph DiPaolo, her daughter, Lisa McConnell and husband Michael, her four sons, Patrick O’Rourke and partner Mary Maxwell, Thomas O’Rourke and wife Mercy, Lee DiPaolo, Corey DiPaolo, two brothers,  Glenn Kavanagh and wife Laurie, James Kavanagh and wife Patti, four grandchildren, Thomas, Kate and husband Michael, Michael and Daniel, two nieces and a nephew, Amanda, Nellie, And Henry.

All services are private and under the direction of the Cochran Funeral Home, 905 High Street, Hackettstown, NJ 07840. For those wishing to leave online condolences for the family please visit,  www.cochranfuneral.com

We all know how much Eileen loved animals, so all who wish to honor her life are invited to donate in her memory to Common Sense for Animals, PO Box 589, Broadway, New Jersey 08808./commonsenseforanimals.org