 She died soon thereafter at the age of 41, succumbing to a heart condition she had endured most of her life.In 1898, Kate McPhelim Cleary was named by "The Chicago Chronicle" as "One of the three leading women humorists in Chicago".Her short stories regularly appeared in such publications as "The Chicago Tribune", "Puck", "Belford's Monthly", "The Chicago Daily News", "McClure's", "Good Housekeeping", "Cosmopolitan", "St. Nicholas", and "The Youth's Companion".