Kimberly Ann Elizabeth Kiely-Bouker, formerly of East Hampton, died of liver and colon cancer on Sept. 14 in Maryville, Tenn. She was 50.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in business, Ms. Kiely-Bouker worked in advertising for several years in New York City, and had a chance to see one of her advertisements displayed in Times Square. But she got tired of the city life, her husband, Michael D. Bouker, said, and returned to school for a master’s degree in special education. She taught at schools including the public school in Southold until her health took a turn in 2008.
Ms. Kiely-Bouker was born on May 13, 1976, in Patchogue, and grew up there. She lived in Middle Island and in East Hampton starting in 2008. She and Mr. Bouker were married in May 2010, and in 2021 they moved to Tennessee, where she attended Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Alcoa.
She liked scrapbooking, had an interest in her Irish heritage, and enjoyed “bad television,” including shows such as “Real Housewives,” Mr. Bouker said, “because she thought they were ridiculous. It made her laugh.”
Her first service dog, a German shepherd named Jager, became the inspiration for a children’s book she wrote. Jager is 11 now and remains with the family, along with a second service dog, Kaiser, also a German shepherd.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two children, Thomas, 15, and Elizabeth, 8. Her parents, Henry Kronbach and Elizabeth Kiely, and a daughter, Claire, died before her.
A burial Mass will be said on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Holbrook. Her ashes will be placed at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Coram.
Her family has suggested donations to the American Cancer Society, at cancer.org, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, at stjude.org.
