Mary Kathryn Weyrich

Kate passed away on April 13 surrounded by family and loved ones at her home in Mebane, N.C., after a long and courageous battle with cancer.

Kate was born in Dodge City, Kansas to her parents Frank and Edith Weyrich during the height of the Dust Bowl. She was raised on a farm and developed a fierce, self-reliant spirit; a trademark of the American Midwest she would carry her entire life. After graduating Kinsley High School in 1950 she became a homemaker, and later in life began a career as a secretary from which she later retired.

Kate had many interests. She was a frequent patron of the Met Opera and NYC Ballet, a gardener with an impressive collection of (occasionally giant) cacti, and a voracious reader— especially of western novels and books on history and politics. She was a talented, prolific seamstress who sewed the drapes of her home by her own hand, and over her many years pieced together a collection of quilts she passed on to her children.

Kate was a caring person who will be fondly remembered by many as the woman who paid for the vet bills of stray animals so they could find a loving home. Her greatest passion was nurturing and raising animals.

She loved her family and grandchildren and will be missed by all.

Kate is survived by her children Donna Martin (Ron), Daniel Smith (Carla), Ellen Bradshaw (Wendell), Frank Smith (Marlene), and Dwight Smith (Shirley), as well as her grandchildren Chris Bowlin, Derrick Smith, Jordan Kathryn Kirlin (Chris), Sam Bradshaw, David Smith, Steven Smith, Kathryn Smith, William Smith, and Holly Smith (Nate). She was preceded in death by her parents, sister Imogene Crockett, and twin brothers.

She will be buried in Hillside Cemetery located in Kinsley, Kansas after the quarantine. A service may be scheduled at that time.

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