Katherine Louise Beattie passed on May 6, 2020 after a prolonged battle vs congestive heart failure and a severe accident suffered in July.
Kathie was born on December 31, 1938 and raised in Westfield and Bloomsbury, N.J. the youngest in a family of four children of the Alfred Luessenhop family. Kathie graduated from Cedar Crest College in 1960 and married her husband, Bill Beattie, in June of that same year. They planned to celebrate their 60th anniversary on June 18, 2020.
Kathie taught elementary education in the Bethlehem, PA school system for two years before settling down to be a homemaker and mother of three children, Victoria, Michael and Elizabeth. The family moved with Bill's Union Carbide job changes from Bethlehem to Cleveland, Ohio to Pittsburgh, PA and Wyckoff, N.J. over the next decade before moving with Union Carbide to South Africa in 1974. Kathie and Bill returned to the U.S. and have resided in Danbury since 1980.
While in South Africa, Kathie's love of nature and the wildlife of the country led her to a commitment to wildlife photography, "to share the Lord's creative masterpiece with others". Her lion photos and those of the hummingbird taken in Africa, South America and the U.S. grace many walls here in Greater Danbury.
Kathie and Bill have served at the Walnut Hill Community Church for over 25 years. Their concern for youth in the "at risk" population led them to launch Pathways Danbury, in 1997, the roots for the Jericho Partnership.
In addition to her parents, Kathie was predeceased by her three siblings, Barbara, Alfred, and David. She is survived by her husband, Bill, her daughter, Vicki, her son, Michael and wife Laurel and their children Shannon, Kevin and Jennifer and her daughter, Liz and husband, Matt and their children, Ellie, Cameron, Will and Reese.
Kathie will be remembered for her caring nature, faith in God and generous and engaging smile. She was family centered and loved summers on Nantucket with her kids and her grandchildren and many friends from 40 years of summers on the Island.
Kathie will be cremated and laid to rest in a private family ceremony with a Celebration of her life to be held at Walnut Hill Community Church after the COVID – 19 lock down is lifted.
In Kathie's memory, we ask that you make a donation to the Jericho Partnership in Danbury.

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