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Page 4 of 43 min read

Kitty, Her Brother and Her Sisters

Charles and Catherine had four children. Catherine’s death notice of 1953 names them all.

ChildBirthDeathMarried
Marie J. (Sister Charles Mary)about May 191815 February 2018, Camilla Hall, Immaculata
Catherine Theresa (“Kitty”)31 December 1920, Philadelphia22 June 2002Anthony Benedict Squitiere, 1953
Helen Elizabeth21 December 192212 November 2016Francis Joseph (“Bud”) Tobin, 16 September 1946
Charles A.26 April 1927, South Philadelphia21 June 2025

Marie, the eldest, became Sister Charles Mary of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Immaculata. Her mother’s death notice gives her as “C.I.M.”. The 1920 census gives her age as one year and eight months, which puts her birth about May 1918, not 1919 as a family tree has it. An obituary index gives her birth as 12 October 1918, so her birth date is not settled. She entered the congregation in 1937 and professed her vows in 1940. She spent her working life as a reading specialist in the elementary schools of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Diocese of Allentown, as a Title I assistant, and as a learning consultant at the IHM Ministry Center. She died at Camilla Hall, Immaculata, on 15 February 2018, aged 99, in her eighty-first year of religious life.

Kitty Hanlon in a tailored beige suit jacket
Catherine Theresa (“Kitty”) Hanlon. Restored in color.

Kitty, Catherine Theresa Hanlon, was born at Philadelphia on 31 December 1920. In March 1940 she applied for a Social Security number, giving her birth date and naming her parents as Charles F. Hanlon and Catherine N. McCauley. She was 19 and living at home that spring, and in April 1950, at 29 and still unmarried, she was in her parents’ house. In 1953 she married Anthony Benedict Squitiere. In the mid-1950s the couple lived at 2220 Pierce Street, her father’s home since at least 1935, and in December 1955 she was living there with him when he came home fatally hurt. She died on 22 June 2002 and is buried with Anthony at Resurrection Cemetery, Bensalem, Bucks County. Her married life is told in the Squitiere Family section.

Helen married Francis Joseph Tobin at Philadelphia on 16 September 1946. Her application gives her full name as Helen Elizabeth Hanlon and her birth as 21 December 1922, and she was then an assistant supervisor. Francis, a Seaman First Class in the Navy, was born on 4 August 1921 and lived at 4228 Maywood Street. He was the son of Frank Tobin and Anna Magee. When he registered for the draft on 16 February 1942, he gave the same birth date, at Philadelphia, his home on Maywood Street, his employer as the E. J. Schoettle Company and his mother, Anna, as his contact. A Francis Joseph Tobin born on that day probably died in Delaware County on 6 February 2009. Helen’s obituary calls her husband Francis “Bud” Tobin and names their five children. It names her surviving sister and brother as “Sr. Charles Mary Hanlon, IHM and Charles Hanlon”. She died on 12 November 2016, aged 93, and is buried at Saints Peter & Paul Cemetery, Springfield.

Charles, the youngest, was born on 26 April 1927 in South Philadelphia, in St. Edmond’s parish. His obituary calls him “the youngest and only boy in a family of four siblings”. He graduated from South Catholic High School and spent a semester at Villanova. In the Second World War he served in the Navy aboard the seaplane tender USS Albemarle (AV-5). His obituary places his service in the Pacific, in the defense of the Philippines. The ship, built at Camden, New Jersey, spent the war in the Atlantic and the Caribbean and went to the Pacific only after the Japanese surrender. She left Norfolk on 25 September 1945 to bring troops home, by way of Pearl Harbor, New Caledonia and Alameda, and made a round trip to Samar. Charles turned 18 in April 1945. He registered for the draft at Philadelphia on 5 August 1946, already a veteran, with his mother as his contact.

He spent his working life with the Postal Service, first as a letter carrier and later as a postmaster, sworn in in 1981. He coached for the Police Athletic League and umpired adult softball and baseball. He and his wife were married for seventy-two years. He died on 21 June 2025, aged 98. His funeral Mass was said at St. Eugene Church, Primos, on 30 June, and he was buried at Saints Peter & Paul Cemetery. A daughter, Joanne, died before him, and he left four children, eleven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

References

  • Find A Grave memorials.
  • United States Census, 1920. Charles F Hanlon household, Philadelphia Ward 36, ED 1265. ark 1:1:MFTC-3FG.
  • CatholicPhilly obituaries. Sister Charles Mary Hanlon, I.H.M. (2018), confirming Camilla Hall, Immaculata, and the Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; Sister Marie Angela Natoli (2015), former general superior of the same congregation, also died at Camilla Hall. ihmimmaculata.org, IHM obituaries category (2025–26 entries indexed). Sistersofihm.org, obituary archive of the separate Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Scranton, headquartered at the IHM Center, 2300 Adams Avenue, Scranton, PA, including Sister Maria Carmel Hanlon (1904–1993), an unrelated namesake of the Scranton congregation.
  • United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936–2007. Catherine Tresa Squittiere, b. 31 December 1920, Philadelphia; d. 22 June 2002; parents Charles F. Hanlon and Catherine N. McCauley; application March 1940 (ark 1:1:6K9K-VLDB).
  • Family-supplied grandchildren tree, descendants of Charles Francis Hanlon and Catherine McCauley, family archive.
  • Find a Grave, memorial 288828516, Charles Francis Hanlon (10 Feb 1893 – 5 Dec 1955), Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Yeadon. Created by Shirley Ann Denmark, 6 November 2025. Three photographs: one added by the creator, and two Philadelphia Inquirer pages (7 December 1955, page 36; 9 December 1955, page 51) added by cathy313 on 19 November 2025. Linked family: parents Daniel Hanlon Sr. and Mary Ann McCann; spouse Catherine M. McCauley Hanlon (1899–1953); children Sr. Marie J. “Charles Mary” Hanlon (1918–2018), Catherine Tresa “Kitty” Hanlon Squitiere (1920–2002) and Helen Hanlon Tobin (1922–2016). Read 21 September 2026.
  • Marriage license application, Francis Joseph Tobin and Helen Elizabeth Hanlon, Philadelphia, 1946, family archive transcript Read the record
  • Newspaper obituary — Helen Hanlon Tobin (2016); also cited in “Their Children,” above.
  • Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Marriage Indexes, 1885–1951. Charles F. Hanlon and McCauley, 1917, license no. 375394 (ark 1:1:ZWM1-JVZM). United States, State and County Marriages: Helen Elizabeth Hanlon and Francis Joseph Tobin, 16 September 1946, Philadelphia, bride’s parents Charles Hanlon and Catherine McCauley, groom’s parents Frank Tobin and Anna Magee (ark 1:1:Q28G-GTK5; image 3:1:S3HY-D1K9-YD5, not read).
  • King Funeral Service obituary — Charles A. Hanlon (2025); cross-referenced against Helen Hanlon Tobin’s 2016 obituary to confirm his identity (see “Their Children,” above).
  • Pennsylvania, World War II Draft Registrations, 1940–1945 (FamilySearch). Charles Anthony Hanlon, b. 26 April 1927, Philadelphia, registered 5 August 1946, occupation “Veteran,” contact his mother Catherine Hanlon (ark 1:1:Q29Z-6CS3). James Aloysius Hanlon, b. 17 September 1906, Philadelphia, registered 16 October 1940, contact his wife Emily Hanlon, employer Chichester Chemical Co. (ark 1:1:Q29Z-69PD). Index only.
  • FamilySearch, United States, Obituary Records, 2014–2023. Charles Mary Hanlon, b. 12 October 1918, d. 15 October 2018; relatives named include Charles and Dorothy Hanlon, Charles Hanlon and Catherine McCauley Hanlon, Catherine and [name withheld], Helen and Francis Tobin (ark 1:1:61K8-2DGB). Index only; the death date conflicts with [102].
  • United States Census, 1940. Charles Hanlon household, Philadelphia Ward 36, ED 51-1347. ark 1:1:KQZ6-XK8.
  • United States Census, 1950. Charles Hanlon household, Philadelphia ED 51-1801. ark 1:1:6XBK-Y6NG.
  • Ancestry.com LifeStory printout, Emil Squitiere (paywalled; cited as record location), family archive scan.
  • Philadelphia Inquirer, “Fatally Beaten Leaving Doctor,” 6 December 1955.
  • FamilySearch, “Pennsylvania, World War II Draft Registration Cards,” Francis Joseph Tobin, 16 February 1942, familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2SJ-L839, read on the image; Social Security Death Index, Francis Joseph Tobin (index).
  • King Funeral Service, obituary of Charles A. Hanlon, kingfuneralservice.com/obituaries/charles-hanlon, read 24 September 2026 (supplements [141] and [146]): South Catholic High School; one semester at Villanova; Police Athletic League coach and licensed umpire; predeceased by daughter Joanne; funeral 30 June 2025, St. Eugene Church, Primos; interment SS. Peter and Paul.
  • Naval History and Heritage Command, Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, entry for Albemarle (AV-5).