BANGOR – A former Bangor social worker and philanthropist died Feb. 24 in Bangor at the age of 86.

Catherine “Kae” Barrett of Bangor was born Catherine Pauline Rogan on June 29, 1917, in the middle of the Penobscot River. In 1917, expectant mothers in Bangor crossed the bridge over the river to reach Mrs. Prebles Baby Hospital in Brewer. Barrett’s mother, Josephine Hayford, didn’t make it, and delivered on the bridge in the middle of the river.

The daughter of Bangor policeman Francis J. Rogan and Hayford, Barrett was an active member of the community, serving on many committees and service groups throughout her life. Barrett served as the social guidance director at the Ross Home and was an adjunct of the Eastern Maine General Hospital.

Barrett also served as president of the Good Samaritan Home Association, now the Good Samaritan Agency, helping unwed teenage mothers with basic needs. She was chairman for the Better Teeth for Bangor Children Committee in 1966, the year Bangor residents voted to put fluoride in the city’s public water supply.

During and after the Depression, Barrett worked as a medical social worker for the U.S. government on the Maine coast. During WWII, Barrett worked for the Red Cross of Governor’s Island in New York, N.Y.

Barrett also was president of the Auxiliary of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, a director of St. Joseph’s College, president of the Bangor Junior League, president of the Quipas Club, a director of the Community Health and Counseling Services of Bangor, and a cellist with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.

In 2002, the John Bapst Memorial High School Boosters honored Barrett for being the school’s first cheerleader in 1934. Barrett received her bachelor’s degree from the College of St. Elizabeth in New Jersey, and a master’s degree in social service from the Catholic University in Washington, D.C., where she would later serve as a member of the board of trustees. Barrett also held a master’s degree in education from the University of Maine.

Barrett was the wife of deceased Bangor allergist Dr. Robert J. Barrett Jr. She is survived by her children, Robert J. Barrett III and his wife, Catherine Moore Barrett, of Palm Beach, Fla., and Bar Harbor; Bonnie Barrett Clarke and her husband, Jim, of Hanover, Mass.; Mark Barrett and his wife, Kit, of Larchmont, N.Y.; and her seven grandchildren.

There will be a wake from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Foley Funeral Home and a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 26, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, for family and friends of Barrett.

Remembrances can be sent to the Catherine and Robert Barrett Scholarship Fund, John Bapst Memorial High School, 100 Broadway, Bangor 04401, Attention: Joe Sekara.