Kathleen Connor, of Richland, Wash., died on July 25. She was 65.

She was born on Oct. 31, 1943 to Lawrence W. and Rosemary M. Connor in San Diego, growing up there and in Alexandria, Va. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Radford College in 1965 and began her professional career in Richmond, Va. In the 1970s, she worked in San Francisco for the U.S. Civil Service Commission and in 1976 worked as a special advisor to Indian tribes at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management in Seattle, where she was one of their few women labor relations negotiators. She transferred to the U.S. Department of Energy in Richland as a labor relations specialist and retired in 2000.

She loved buying and selling properties; her friends recall “moving parties” as she bought and built homes on Bainbridge Island and in Richland, San Jose del Cabo, Seattle and Suquamish.

She was a proud member of the Osage Indian Tribe in Oklahoma and had been researching their troubled history in preparation for writing a manuscript. After moving to Mexico she studied Spanish and enjoyed many friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by cousin Thomas Mann and his sons, Mike and Bob.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Aug. 10 at Einan’s Sunset Event Center, 915 By-Pass Highway in Richland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Humane Society or other charity of choice.