I first met Kate as a professional colleague and became a personal friend when she discovered one of my close college friends was her niece, Jane. 

Kate's irrepressible spirit and sharp mind endeared her to all she met.  In my time with her, she was the face of USDA to top magazine editors in NYC. She attended my wedding and came close to upstaging the bride, as she held everyone enchanted captives with her marvelous stories - young and older, alike. She loved hosting get-togethers at her townhome, whether for magazine editors, friends and family, or notable newsmakers. At the age of 2 months old, my first child attended a party Kate was hosting in honor of a newly appointed ambassador, who was also Kate's relative! 

As the years passed, I continued to find myself in conversation with people who knew Kate. Always a lover of knowledge and of people, always in constant motion with many things in the works, always ready to make new connections, Kate Alfriend leaves us the better for her time with us.

May you continue to look to the hearer of prayer for he will comfort you during this difficult time. Psalm 65:2

I'll remember Kate in her townhouse in DC on my first trip there. I also talked with her occasionally on the phone in her later years when her niece, Connie, would handover the phone to me, to say hi. She was always cheerful, and even if she didn't really remember me, she chatted with great enthusiasm. Her list of accomplishments show that she held other people in high esteem and wanted to do something important to help them in her career. May she rest in peace.

May the God of all comfort give you the strength needed to cope. (Romans 15:4)

Murphy Funeral Homes

Kate Alfriend

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Kate Waller Barrett Alfriend

19 January, 1919 – 20 September, 2013

Murphy Funeral Homes

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