Dedicated cardiologist, advocate for social justice

Nearly two years after being diagnosed with metastatic cancer, Dr. Kathleen M. Mirante died peacefully as she lived, surrounded by friends, on April 10, 2017. She was 77.

Dr. Mirante was born in Seattle, Washington on April 8, 1940 to Dominic and Frances Drew Mirante, and attended schools in the Seattle area. By age 10, Kathleen knew she wanted to be a physician and with her mother’s help went to the library to determine what would be required to attain that goal. After graduating from Bishop Blanchet High School in Seattle, she received a scholarship from the College of Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, California.

After graduation, while at the convent of the Medical Mission Sisters in Philadelphia, Dr. Mirante knew her calling was the practice of medicine. She attended Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, the first medical school for women in the United States and now part of Drexel University College of Medicine.

After graduation in 1971, she did her residency at Montefiori Medical Center in New York and further study in cardiology in San Diego and in San Francisco. In 1976, Dr. Mirante joined the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in Fontana as a board-certified cardiologist.

For 30 years, Dr. Mirante was a caring, dedicated physician and a tireless advocate for her patients. In 1988 her efforts in developing the first cardiac rehabilitation program in Kaiser’s Southern California region were recognized when she was awarded the Raymond Kay, MD, Personal Excellence Award and again in 1998 when the California Medical Review recognized the Fontana Medical Center with an award for its Cooperative Cardiovascular Project, chaired by Dr. Mirante.

Dr. Mirante’s passions extended beyond the practice of medicine. She was a political activist, a lover of classical music and dedicated supporter of the arts.

After her retirement, Dr. Mirante dedicated her considerable energy to many progressive causes and would willingly lend her time and resources to many organizations in support of the environment, peace and social justice for women and all people. After living in the Claremont area for many years, she divided her time between her homes near the shore in Oxnard, California and on Whidbey Island in Washington. Kathleen’s generous spirit and passion for righting the wrongs of the world will be missed by all, her loved ones said.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister Sheila Mirante and her brother Timothy “Tim” Mirante. She is survived by her sister Sharon Mirante; her nephew Drew Mirante and his wife Zulma of Seattle; countless friends, colleagues and patients all over the world, and her two beloved Maltese dogs, Nicky and Lucky.

Donations may be made in Dr. Kathleen Mirante’s honor to her favorite charities: Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania; Medical Mission Sisters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Whidbey Camano Land Trust in Greenbank, Washington; the Dolores Huerta Foundation in Bakersfield, California; Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota; Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California; and Blanchet High School in Seattle, Washington.