Known by her friends and family as Katie, she was a loving daughter, sister, mother and wife; an active member of the Collierville United Methodist church and a marketing executive at Medtronic.
Katie is survived by her husband, Stephen Stamps and their two daughters, Evelyn and Lillian; her parents, Thomas and Augusta Betzwieser; sister and brother-in-law, Sarah and Bryce Fraser, and their sons, Everett and Griffin; brother and sister-in-law, Alexander and Kirstie Betzwieser and their daughter, Ruby Katherine; sister, Jennifer Betzwieser; brother, Adam Betzwieser; Stephen’s parents, Taylor and Kay Stamps; his brother and wife, Tye and Melissa Stamps, and their sons, Ben and Sam; and a host of family and friends.
Visitation will be held Friday, August 16, 2019, at 2 p.m. followed by a memorial service at 3 p.m. at Collierville United Methodist church. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the National Brain Tumor Society (https://nbtsevents.braintumor.org/katiestamps ) or the charity of your choice.
Katie was born to Tom and Lynne Betzwieser in Pittsburgh, PA, and was the eldest of their five children. She was raised in Hickory, NC after the family moved there in 1983. Katie grew up playing sports, including soccer, basketball, volleyball and tennis and graduated with Honors from Hickory High School in 1999. She went on to graduate with Honors from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelors of Science degree in 2003. While at Vanderbilt, Katie was a member of the Student Government and Alpha Delta Pi Sorority and played on the Varsity Women’s Soccer team. After graduating from Vanderbilt, Katie went on to work at Medtronic where she spent 16 years progressing her career, growing the Spine and Biologics division of the company and advocating for women in healthcare as a founding member of ASPIRE, Medtronic’s field resource group for women. She passionately sought to provide all women with tools to empower their own advancement and careers, and successfully started by creating and developing her own “Program in a Box” for Women in Neurosurgery, which is now being piloted in cities throughout the country.
Katie first discovered she had brain cancer in 2007 and immediately underwent a successful treatment plan involving surgery, radiation and chemotherapy that put the cancer into remission for nearly 10 years. During that time, Katie married the love of her life, Stephen Stamps of Collierville, TN; progressed her learning with an executive MBA from Wharton School of Business; became an active member of the Collierville United Methodist church; and welcomed two beautiful daughters, first, Evelyn Grace in October 2013 and then Lillian Taylor in June 2016 all while balancing her expanding roles and responsibilities at Medtronic.
Katie’s cancer remained in remission until August 2016 at which point she resumed chemotherapy and in early 2018 incorporate an FDA-approved wearable treatment called Optune. Katie continued to receive chemotherapy while wearing the Optune device for more than 18 months until the cancer stopped responding to treatment. She passed away in the company of God and those closest to her on August 10.
Throughout her journey, Katie remained strong, positive and proactive regarding her chronic condition, spending hours researching available treatment plans. She also selflessly donated her time to the National Brain Tumor Society talking with and consoling patients recently diagnosed with brain tumors. She did all of this (and much, much more) with a smile that lit up any room she entered, bringing joy and love to everyone she met.
