Kitty DuPlessis

Kitty Sue Berger DuPlessis, age 86, passed away peacefully at home on April 20, 2025, fittingly on Easter Sunday. She lived a life of faith, grace, and strength, and her passing on Resurrection Day is a comfort to those who know the hope she had in Jesus.

Kitty was born on June 28, 1938, in Danville, Virginia, and grew up in nearby Gretna. She attended Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she met her lifelong love, John DuPlessis, Sr., during her very first week on campus—an encounter that began a marriage of nearly 66 years. Their relationship was a beautiful example of devotion, teamwork, and abiding love. In 1966, they made their home in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where they raised a family that continued to grow under Kitty’s steady, joyful care.

She initially studied music in college before switching to a degree in education—a reflection of her lifelong love for music, learning, and teaching. Though she never taught in a traditional school setting, she spent decades teaching in other ways: leading 6th grade Sunday School and 1st grade choir at Severns Valley Baptist Church, and giving piano lessons from her home for 43 years. Her days were filled with what she loved—people and music, especially through the many students she mentored over the years.

Kitty was known for her many capabilities, her natural elegance, her unflappable nature, and her unmistakable southern accent and charm. She had a lovely, lively personality—clever and witty, gracious, and always attuned to the needs of others.

Kitty had an eye for beauty and a way of bringing it into the world—through music, through her home and genuine hospitality, and through the thoughtful traditions she created. Her life was marked by a steady ability to meet each season with calm capability: camping with five small children, supporting her husband and sons through years of Boy Scout events, hosting elegant dinners for her bridge club and special family celebrations, planning tea parties for grandchildren over two decades, and cheering on countless school plays, recitals, games, and graduations. Whatever the moment required, she met it with resourcefulness, warmth, and grace.

She gave her best to everything she touched—being a wife and mother, homemaking, teaching, hosting big family gatherings, and even using her gift of writing to create special birthday poems. With creativity, inner strength, and a clear sense of what mattered most, she gave generously of herself in every season of life. She cared sacrificially for those around her, including her mother and in-laws, tending to their needs with grace and unwavering devotion. Whether nurturing her family, teaching students, or opening her home, she offered beauty, warmth, and love to all in her care.

Her legacy is woven into the lives of those she nurtured and inspired—her family, her students, her friends. She had the rare gift of making each person feel uniquely seen and loved. Her energetic way of doing life—always with warmth and good humor—lifted those around her and brought out their best. She led not by loudness or demand, but by example: doing things well, caring deeply, and encouraging excellence in others with a gentle yet firm hand. She lived with intention, grace, and tireless love—qualities that continue to echo in the lives of all who were shaped by her.

She is survived by her beloved husband, John and their five children and their spouses—John Jr. (Julia), Kathryn Hinton (Terry), Peggy Adams (Eric), Sam DuPlessis (Connie), and Jim DuPlessis (Marcy); twenty grandchildren and their spouses; and fifteen great-grandchildren. She was deeply loved by extended family, friends, and all who had the privilege of knowing her.

Kitty’s life reflected the heart of Proverbs 31, not just in principle, but in practice. All in her family adored her, and can truly say, “Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” As a wife and mother, she modeled these qualities—faith, wisdom, gracious service, and quiet diligence—with rare consistency. She was clothed with dignity, lived with purpose, and honored the Lord she loved.

Kitty’s caregivers, Toni Tuttle-Mata, Nancy Taylor, JoDale Anderson, and Nancy Shores, all cared for her with extraordinary devotion and love.

A celebration of Kitty’s life will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at Severns Valley Baptist Church in Elizabethtown. Family visitation will begin at 11:00 a.m., followed by public visitation from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. The service will begin at 2:00 p.m., with a graveside service to follow at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Severns Valley Baptist Church, Hosparus, or a charity of your choice.

The promise of Scripture brings comfort to her family in sorrow and joy even in her parting:“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead . . .”—Psalm 16:9–10a (NIV)

Kitty believed this promise with her whole heart—that in Christ, death is not the end. Her family grieves, but with great hope, knowing she is now with God. As Scripture says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13) That same invitation—to hope, to peace, to life—is open to all.

Kitty Sue Berger DuPlessis lived and died in that hope in Christ—and her deepest desire was for others to accept that, too.