Obituary of Cecelia Beirne

February 13, 2026

Cecelia Beirne, Educator, Finance Executive and Volunteer for Social Justice, dies at 79

Cecelia Beirne, a lifelong New Yorker whose career spanned the worlds of high finance and dedicated public service, died on February 13, 2026. She was 79 years old.  Ms. Beirne was a woman of dual passions: the precision of mathematics and the empowerment of others. Her professional life was a testament to these interests, transitioning from the classrooms of the South Bronx and Westchester to the boardrooms of Wall Street.

Cecelia, who grew up in Washington Heights from parents who came to the U.S. from Ireland, attended parochial schools and graduated with a B.A. in mathematics from Hunter College.  She then moved to San Francisco with V.I.S.T.A., where she spent four years focusing on criminal justice reform. After returning to New York to take care of her ailing mother, she spent a decade from 1975 to 1985 instructing students at Blind Brook High School in Westchester and in various New York City public and private schools.

During the late 1980s, Ms. Beirne brought her analytical skills to the private sector. After getting her MBA at night while teaching, she started a 20-year career as a “quant “on Wall Street, specializing in structured finance, and finally applying her skills to a microfinance organization. She served as a senior manager at Deloitte & Touche, where she modeled complex structured finance transactions, before becoming a vice president at Financial Security Assurance. Later, as a portfolio manager at MicroVest Capital Management, she managed a $70 million portfolio, working to bring transparency and stability to microfinance institutions in the developing world.

Her volunteer commitments were extensive and included teaching financial literacy to secondary students in New York City and Cambodia, working at the International Rescue Committee to connect asylees with educational opportunities, and tutoring clients in math at the Fortune Society.  Cecelia loved to travel off the typical tourist path, with recent trips with the non-profit MindLeaps to Rwanda and Guinea, and with the World Affairs Council to Egypt.  She was an active participant in the parish of St. Francis Xavier in Manhattan.

After successful treatment for several cancers, she contracted esophageal cancer in late 2025, and died peacefully on February 13, 2026.  She is survived by an older brother, Thomas Beirne, his children Andrew and Kristen Beirne, and their children Nick, Nora, James and Sloane Beirne.

A visitation will be held on February 27, 2026, from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the
Greenwich Village Funeral Home, 199 Bleecker Street.

A funeral mass will follow on February 28 at 10:00 AM at St. Francis Xavier Church,

46 West 16th Street, with interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY

In lieu of flowers, Cecelia requested that donations be made to a scholarship fund she established at Lehman College.  The link below describes Cecilia’s involvement with the college and a link for donations. If it is not already pre-filled, please designate Cecelia Beirne in the comments box.

https://lehman.edu/giving/cecelia-beirne/

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