A warm and caring presence in every community she connected with during her long life, Käte had a particular fondness for children and animals. She was perhaps best known for her enduring love of horses and her presence in both the Birmingham and Atlanta equestrian communities. An avid rider, Käte competed in dressage events and continued to ride her horse, Adair, into her eighties. Her barn and riding ring were always available to family and friends.
Born in Zwickau, Germany, on April 20,1926, Käte was the daughter of Wilhelm and Anna Emsen Schnorrbusch. After the war, she continued to live in Germany until she met her husband, Joseph “Joe” John Garity, while working as a telephone operator for the Americans in Landstuhl, where Joe was stationed at the U.S. Air Force Base. The two were married a year later in Knoxville, TN, on July 19,1955. Käte became a U.S. citizen on February 29,1956; she proudly celebrated the anniversary of her naturalization every leap year for the rest of her life. Deeply affectionate toward each other, Käte and Joe were happily married for 54 years.
Käte was predeceased by her husband, Joe; her parents, Wilhelm and Anna; and her siblings, Annalisa Schnorrbusch Henning and Helmut Schnorrbusch. Although her siblings remained in Germany, she stayed in close touch, and could often be found on the phone catching up with them. Käte is survived by her daughter, Rebecca Garity DePalma (William Loren Gary) and her grandchildren, Blanton Webb DePalma (Katharine Frances); Katherine Alexandra Webb DePalma, and Elizabeth Lawrence DePalma. Earlier this year, she was thrilled by the news that the birth of a great-granddaughter was expected in October.
A funeral mass will be held in the chapel at Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church (2 Xavier Circle, Mountain Brook, AL, 35213) on Monday, July 10th, at 1:30 PM, followed by the interment of her ashes at Southern Heritage Cemetery (475 Cahaba Valley Road, Pelham, AL 35124).
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Special Equestrians, Inc. (1215 Woodward Drive Pelham, AL 35124).
