Katherine “Katie” Kyle Wall

Katherine “Katie” Kyle Wall, 47, died January 28, 2026. A daughter, sister, aunt, friend, enthusiastic dog-mom, loving wife and step-mom, and soon to be grandmother, she leaves behind her devoted husband of eleven years, Eric Alexis Wall.

Born November 9, 1978, in Washington DC, Katie spent her early years and much of her adult life in bustling northern Virginia but felt most at home in the quieter Shenandoah mountains. She never minded a good drive on country roads, with her windows down, music loud, a pup in the passenger seat, and the speedometer a few notches above legal.

Since she was a young teenager, Katie fought a relentless battle against Crohn’s disease. Her journey included dozens of surgeries, two bowel transplants, a rare blood disease, skin cancer, and lymphoma. She repeatedly defied the odds—thanks in large part to the talented surgeons and doctors at Georgetown University Hospital and two organ donors…But even more so due to her notorious stubbornness, and as she often gratefully mentioned “a LOT of people have always been praying for me”. No one had more fight and desire to live, which was made even more evident in a tattoo on her arm, “Never Give Up, Never”. While Crohn’s disease did not define Katie, it shaped her in many ways, and like difficulty in life often can, it also shaped her love of life and spirituality.

Inspired by and wanting to give back and pay forward the gift so many in the medical field gave her, she earned her degree in nursing and became an RN in 2004 at the age of 26. Katie was never quiet about her own struggle with addiction, which was even more exacerbated by 21+ major abdominal surgeries and long stays over many years in the hospital. Her fight and desire to live was further fueled by these experiences, but she never claimed to have done it on her own. Katie always attributed her recovery to the support and tenacity of her support network in Narcotics Anonymous (NA), and chiefly among them her sponsor, Shaela, who she said, “Always tells me the truth, is always honest with me, has never given up on me, and has always loved me”. In her usual spirit of wanting to give back what was so freely given to her Katie was a pillar in the NA community, sponsoring many women, loved by and supporting too many to name, always involved in service, and even going on to combine being an RN with becoming a Substance Abuse Counselor. Katie utilized her experience in recovery, her nursing/medical knowledge as an RN, and her certification as a substance abuse counselor for 13 years in the addiction treatment field and up until her passing from this life, transforming countless lives, and guiding others down the path she knew so well. She never made excuses for herself and didn’t take excuses from others. If you were all-in, Katie was all-in with you.

It was during this time, she met her truly all-in partner, Eric, whom she married on a beautiful day in the Shenandoah mountains on October 26, 2014. Together, they made a beautiful and messy life, sharing a common mission and love of family, people, music, the outdoors, and their dogs, Dude and Poppy. Eric was the yin to Katie’s yang, and they celebrated together in good times and leaned on one another through the difficult ones.

Katie was gregarious and fun, always up for an adventure or a laugh. She was curious and well-read across a variety of random topics. She loved to cook and be in the kitchen, and loved watching the Food Network. Some of Katie’s fondest memories were cooking as a teenager at the bed-and-breakfast her parents used to operate in Luray, Virginia, and working in fine dining during her twenties in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

We will miss Katie for everything she was: a silly, headstrong, selfless, loving, brave, hurt, loud, quiet, deep human and irreplaceable. Even when she felt beat down and tired of dealing with another hospitalization, or that her health issues held her back from the life she wanted to live, or even questioned the involuntary hand she had been dealt, in the quiet, honest moments, she never stopped thanking God for the life she had. Even as she left this life, Katie generously gave back again through organ and tissue donation, a cause close to her heart. Katie lives on through the treasured memories of all who knew her and called her friend.

In addition to Eric, she leaves behind stepmother, Gail Kyle; brother Kris and his wife Jennifer Kyle; brother Remus and wife Ilona Whitt, and brother Kevin Kyle; nieces Isabel and Aurelia; stepson Jeremy and wife Rebekah Wall; stepdaughter Amanda and husband Randy Maniccia, and Katie’s first and soon-to-be grandson Rainey Alexis Wall, who she was so excited to meet in March.

She is predeceased by her father, David Kyle, and mother, Judy Kyle.

Katie will be laid to rest Saturday, February 21st at noon at the Cool Spring Natural Cemetery, Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, Virginia. A celebration of life will be scheduled and held in northern Virginia at a later date.

In memory of Katie, you are invited to donate time or money to any of those who gave so much to her:

MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (a non-profit Hospital) (https://giving.medstarhealth.org/medstarhealth/get-involved/donate/mguhdonate)

The aHUS Foundation https://shopahus.square.site/product/donation/25?cp=true&sa=true&sbp=false&q=false

or Donate Life America (https://donatelife.net/how-you-can-help/contribute/), or even consider being an organ/tissue donor.