Katherine Decker Andrus

Katherine (Kathy) Decker Andrus died on November 10, 2025 at the age of 82. She will be dearly missed by her daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and friends. Kathy dedicated her life to her family, friends, faith and helping to create disability awareness in her community. She was known for her kindness, her generosity, her quiet strength and her deep capacity to love. She was the first to jump up to help hold a baby so the mother could eat and the first to get on the floor to play. Her home was filled with laughter, love and endless craft projects. She loved working with her hands and throughout her life continued to take classes to learn new skills including calligraphy, kayaking and brick laying.

Born on December 21, 1942 to Katherine Dietzen Decker and James Quinn Decker in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Kathy spent her early years in Charleston, South Carolina, where her father coached football at the Citadel. The family later moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, where she graduated from Knoxville Catholic High School. She received her B.S. and M.S. degrees at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. While at UT, Kathy was president of Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, Torchbearer, member of Mortar Board and selected for Who’s Who in American Universities and Colleges. She taught Home Economics at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee, before coming to Washington, DC in 1966. Kathy taught at the National Child Research Center in northwest Washington and then in the College of Education at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. She was employed at the Office of Child Development with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare as an Education Specialist with Head Start.

In 1971, Kathy married Nick Andrus and they had five daughters. Many years were spent with volunteer work in the schools and in her Alexandria community. She worked as a home visitor with Early Head Start in Fairfax County and as a parent liaison with Fairfax County Schools Parent Resource Center working with families with children with disabilities. Her volunteer activities included working with visually handicapped individuals in Northern Virginia, with disability programs at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Alexandria, preparing meals for Christ House Rock and volunteering with the United Community Ministries Emergency Services team.

Kathy is predeceased by her parents, Katherine and James Quinn Decker, her sister, Ann Decker Greer, her husband, Nick Andrus and their daughter, Kate Andrus. Kathy is survived by four daughters and their spouses: Beth and Chad Withers, Molly and Tom Cross, Robin and John Kinzer, Margaret and Jon Sickling, and 11 grandchildren.

A celebration of Kathy’s life will take place on Friday, December 19, 2025 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church at 10:30am. A livestream of the mass will be available on the church’s youtube channel, or you can reach out to one of Kathy’s daughters to be emailed the link.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Parkinson's Foundation of the National Capital Area or the Good Shepherd Emergency Assistance Fund.