Katherine Ann Overskei

Katherine Ann Overskei (Kathy) was born to Kenneth and JoAnn Whiting on June 15, 1952 in Greeley, CO. She was the eldest of three children and had a bright and adventurous spirit. The first decade of her life was spent in the Montview area of Denver. On warm summer nights she would climb out of her bedroom window, onto the garage roof, then down a tree to explore the neighborhood. She was very athletic and was a member of the Polar Bears ski club and swam competitively in high school. She graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 1970 and attended Mills College in Oakland, CA. She and her friends often went to parties in Berkeley, which is where she met her future husband, David Overskei. In 1972 Kathy transferred to Simmons College in Boston and she married David in June of 1973.

After Kathy graduated from Simmons in 1974, she worked at MIT in the human resources department. Kathy and David lived in Brookline, MA until 1976 when David graduated from MIT and they moved into their first house in Stoneham, MA. In 1978 Kathy began her MBA at the Sloan School of MIT. There were very few women in the program, and she excelled and graduated in 1980. Life was idyllic, with David doing research at MIT and Kathy working, they bought a house in Wellesley, MA. In 1981 David accepted a job at GA Technologies in San Diego and they moved that June. This house had a pool which was perfect for Kathy to keep cool, as she was 6 months pregnant with their first daughter, Teresa. Teresa was born in September of 1981, followed by Erica in August of 1983.

In 1985 Kathy joined Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) in the HR department, where she eventually became VP for Mergers and Acquisitions dealing with HR issues in 14 countries and 39 states. In 2014, when SAIC split into two companies, she joined LEIDOS corporation as a consulting employee and in 2019 she retired.

Inside and outside of work, Kathy was an advocate for others. She battled breast cancer in her mid forties and supported others fighting the disease whether she knew them personally or professionally. Kathy was active in the San Diego chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (now Beyond Type 1), eventually becoming a board member. She was also active in Stand-Up Scripps Ranch, a political action group, two retiree lunch groups, and volunteered in several political campaigns. She was a donor to various charities and volunteered as an after school tutor in reading and writing for young kids.

Kathy took great joy in being active and playing sports. She was an accomplished skier, encouraging David and the family to learn to ski. Teresa and Erica played competitive soccer, so many weekends were spent at games or tournaments, and Kathy took an interest in the sport and began playing soccer in a women’s league. She had a reputation for being a fast and aggressive player. When she came home with two black eyes from a contested header, David suggested it was time to quit, but she continued playing until she was 55. Jazzercise eventually replaced soccer as her preferred workout and she developed a tight-knit group of friends through both activities.

Kathy enjoyed traveling and joined David on many of his foreign business trips. In the past four years, she organized at least one international trip per year with family and friends.

She was a wonderful person who cultivated deep connections with people wherever she went. Kathy was charming, curious, caring, a voracious reader, supportive, dependable, open-minded, empathetic, trustworthy, had great taste in music and an incredible sense of humor. She was a friend, a wife, a daughter, a mother, a sister, a confidant, and a trusted adviser.

Kathy was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in February of 2024 and on December 10, 2025, she passed away due to an acute flare up of IPF. Kathy is survived by her husband David, her daughters Erica (Los Angeles) and Teresa (New York City), her brothers Ken Whiting Jr. (Kentfield, CA) and Tom Whiting (Delta, CO), and her beloved tuxedo cat, Molly.

A memorial service will be held at El Camino Memorial - Sorrento Valley, located at 5600 Carroll Canyon Rd, San Diego, CA, 92121, on January 17, 2026, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the following organizations:

- Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation:

https://www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org

- Breakthrough T1D:

https://www.breakthrought1d.org

- San Diego Rescue Mission:

https://www.sdrescue.org

- San Diego Humane Society:

https://sdhumane.org