SOUTH HADLEY - Kate Geraldine Bagley, 77, of South Hadley, Massachusetts, passed away on Sunday, January 9, 2022. Born in Boston, she was the daughter of the late Frank and Ada Bagley and sister of the late Frank Bagley. Prior to moving to South Hadley last year with her partner of 42 years, Jane Higgins, Kate called Northampton home. As the daughter of an Air Force pilot, Kate lived all over the world prior to college and was especially fond of her time in Madison, Wisconsin. Kate graduated from Columbia with a degree in Anthropology and she earned many post-graduate degrees from prestigious institutions including a Master’s in Social Work from Fordham, a Ph.D. in Sociology and Education from U.C. Berkeley and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Connecticut School of Law. In the 1980s, Kate collaborated with faculty from a variety of disciplines to create the Women’s Studies program at Westfield State. Later, as Chair of the Department of Sociology and Social Work, she played a pivotal role in establishing the Bachelor’s of Social Work degree. During her 25-year career as a professor, Kate maintained an active program of scholarship in both Sociology and Women’s Studies. In 2007, with her colleague Kathleen McIntosh, she published a compilation of essays by globally diverse feminist voices entitled Women’s Studies in Religion: A Multicultural Reader. An avid traveler, Kate loved going back to her mother’s home on Prince Edward Island and traveling to the National Parks and elsewhere with Jane. She was an accomplished tennis player and also enjoyed playing golf, classical music and doing the Sunday crossword in the New York Times. A memorial service for Kate will be held on Thursday, February 17, 2022 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Springfield Chapels, (413-737-1177), 7 Chapin Terrace, Springfield, MA 01107. In lieu of flowers, memorial scholarship donations for the benefit of students in Sociology and Social Work can be made in Kate’s memory to Westfield State Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 1630, Westfield, MA 01086-1630 or online at: www.westfield.ma.edu/gift For more details and to leave her family condolence messages, please visit: www.stpierrephaneuf.com