Honoring the Memory
of Those
We Love

We are saddened by the loss of our loved one on Sunday August 1, 2021. Kathy traveled the world growing up in the family of a career Navy officer. She lived near naval bases across the United States on the Southern, Western and Eastern coasts. Her favorite US home was San Diego, CA. Her youth was spent loving the waters of Guantanamo Bay Cuba and the people of Yokosuka, Japan during her elementary school years. A graduate from the New York City High School System, she attended Michigan State University where she met her husband, Dale. She and Dale operated a dairy / sheep / crop farm in Capac, Michigan with his father and brother’s family. Kathy was a 4H Leader, being awarded Outstanding Young Farm Woman and represented Michigan Milk Producers Assn at the Nation Institute for Cooperative Education with her husband as Outstanding Young Farm Couple. While on the farm, Kathy attended St Clair County Community College where she graduated Magnum Cum Laude in the field of Nursing; while at the same time raising two children. As a Registered Nurse, Kathy worked in the OR, ER, Floor Unit, Rehabilitation Units, ICU, and the Visiting Home Health and Rural Setting Health Assessment systems throughout her career. She was a patient advocate and second listening ears and her Nursing career utilized her caring nature and people skills. She took pride in being a rural nurse, able to handle many unusual injuries, in under staffed and sparsely equipped facilities. This led to over 20 years as an American Red Cross Nurse, serving in local chapters, disaster deployments, teaching/training rolls, and leadership roles during various activations and emergency sheltering operations. Kathy served with the Red Cross during the 9/11 Ground Zero Clean-up operations at the World Trade Center in New York City, helping treat sick and injured clean-up workers as well as comforting the operation rescue dogs. During the operation Kathy would often take up the role of a mock victim to give the rescue dogs the opportunity to “find” a living survivor, boosting the dog's moral and encouraging them in their continuing efforts. A Gold Bar Girl Scout, she took time to become a leader and Lifetime Member of the Girl Scout organization. She made sure her Scouts knew how to enjoy the out-of-doors by hiking, backpacking, bouldering & rock climbing, leave-no-trace camping, and improving the North Country Trail in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Always an athlete, Kathy was active through gymnastics, dancing, water skiing, surfing, snow skiing, snow shoeing, paddle boarding, kayaking, scuba diving, life guarding, and Yoga. She visited Europe, the Caribbean Islands and Fiji in pursuit of her outdoor fun and the teal waters of her youth. Encouraging her children, Kathy was a constant presence in supporting them in all that they did, from the arts to sports and was a regular feature at all events, attending and volunteering throughout their lives. Kathy loved to sing in four-part harmony groups and maintained the cultivated love of music instilled by her mother and sisters with her own family. She loved to Swing Dance, Act, and to be in crowds of people; ever a people watcher. Kathy shared the hobby of model railroading with Dale and was an expert diorama and people painter. She always found words of encouragement and approached each set-back with “how can we make this work best” attitude. At her heart Kathy was a storyteller, and loved to enrich everyone with the story that was her life. She is survived by her sister Diane (Smith) Bullock, husband Dale, daughter Marguerite Mae (Spouse Ray), son Samuel August (Spouse Amy), grandsons Emmett and Donald. She was preceded in death by her parents Herbert & Joanne (Ferris) Smith and her sister Teresa (Smith) Patten. Her belief in God and Jesus Christ helped her through her life and right to the end she was looking forward to heaven. Memorial contributions can be made to the American Red Cross and/or Girl Scouts in her honor. Arrangements handled by the John F. Slater Funeral Home, Inc., 412-881-4100, 4201 Brownsville Road, Brentwood 15227.