Sisters In Church Melee Over Dad's Eulogy

JANUARY 25--Meet Kathleen and Maureen Deegan.

The Florida siblings were arrested Thursday for allegedly battering each at the Catholic church where their 95-year-old father’s funeral had just been held.

The sibling fight, cops say, was prompted by the eulogy delivered by Kathleen, 66, at the services for Dr. Arthur Deegan, a former management consultant who, in retirement, authored several devotional Bible study books.

Court records do not indicate whether the melee at St. Brendan’s Catholic Church occurred inside the Clearwater Beach chapel or at a reception that followed on church property (seen below).

According to an arrest affidavit, Kathleen’s eulogy did not include a mention of sister Maureen’s 24-year-old daughter, which upset the younger woman and triggered “a verbal argument” between Kathleen and her niece.

Investigators charge that Maureen walked over to Kathleen and “purposely” chest-bumped her. Kathleen then grabbed her sister’s hair and “pulled it backwards.” Maureen responded, cops say, by throwing “strikes at [Kathleen’s] face,” though it was unclear if she “used an open or closed hand.”

The altercation, which was captured by a CCTV system, was then broken up.

The mutual combat resulted in Kathleen’s arrest for misdemeanor battery. Maureen was charged with felony battery since her alleged victim was 65 years of age or older.

Held overnight in the county jail, the Deegans were released from custody yesterday on their own recognizance. A judge has ordered the women to have no contact with each other.

Maureen, a Clearwater resident, lives about seven miles from her sister, whose address is listed in jail records as the $2 million waterfront home owned by their late father’s trust. (1 page)