Katherine A Goodspeed

Born in New York City to Douglas and Elizabeth Goodspeed, Kate grew up in Deering Oaks, Portland, Maine. She graduated from Deering High School and earned a B.A. in Theater and English from Tufts University. Shortly after, she married Roger G. Wilmot Jr. and returned to Portland, where she began her career as a computer programmer at New England Telephone and Telegraph.

Kate was a devoted mother to her two children, Sara (born 1969) and Benjamin (born 1971). Kate later worked as a rehabilitation teacher for the blind in Maine and Vermont, and in 1981, she, her children, and her second husband, Reverend Herbert B. Perry Jr., relocated to Colorado. In the 1980s, she served as a senior technical writer for AT&T Bell Labs and was actively involved with the United Church of Christ Board for World Ministries, chairing the Africa Committee.

During her time on the board of the UCBWM, she participated in a vigil at the White House of the UC leaders to protest the US killing of civilians by funding the Contras in Nicaragua. This was her first act of Civil Resistance and she and all others were arrested and spent over 24 hours in a DC jail. In January 1991 Kate protested the first gulf war – (Operation Desert Storm) by organizing a women’s fast for peace and fasting on only water in front of the White House. In the beginning there were ten women participating and by the end it was only Kate that lasted for the full intended 28 days. When she returned from China, she again became active in Middle East issues, leading a strong anti-war movement with the Colorado Peace Movement in Denver after 9/11. Kate engaged in numerous acts of civil resistance, having been arrested four times, and after China, the last two acts of resistance were as part of the transform Columbus Day movement in Denver. Kate was an active member and a leader at Parkhill United Church of Christ from 1991 until 2017.

Kate was passionate about working with refugees, tutoring an Eritrean woman and helping to settle her family in Colorado. After divorcing in 1985, she embraced her independence, humorously claiming “sole possession of the remote control” for 41 years.

While with AT&T Bell Labs, Kate earned a master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from UC Denver. In 1992, she was appointed by the United Church of Christ to teach English in China with the Amity Foundation, where she found her true calling, traveling extensively throughout the region.

Upon returning to the U.S. in 2001, just before 9/11, Kate taught English to adult refugees at Emily Griffith Technical College for 14 years, creating the Work Intensive Skills Camp (WISC) program that served over 1,200 individuals. A renowned expert in teaching ESL to pre-literate adult learners, Kate continued her involvement in education after retirement in 2015. She was also deeply involved at Park Hill United Church of Christ, contributing to various social initiatives, including support for the homeless.

In 2017, she sold her Denver home and bought a house on Sand Pond in Monmouth, Maine, later spending winters as a “snowbird” in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. There, she became fluent in Spanish, volunteered at a local school, and raised funds for community improvements.

An avid quilter, Kate earned numerous awards at county fairs in Maine. She celebrated her 80th birthday in Mexico and, upon her return, moved to Schooner Estates in Auburn, where she engaged in community activities.

Kate’s vibrant spirit and dedication to teaching and social justice left a lasting impact on many lives. She will be deeply missed.

She is survived by her younger sister Suzanne Picurro and brother-in-law Mark Picurro, her daughter Sara Wilmot and son-in-law, Paul Brouwer, her son Benjamin Wilmot and daughter-in-law Amy Wilmot, and her grandchildren Liam Wilmot, Sarah Brouwer and Rachel Brouwer, her niece Kathryn Winslow and nephew Scott Gallant.

Her celebration of life service will be held on September 20th at 11am at Winthrop Congregational United Church of Christ.

Instead of flowers, we ask that donations be made to the World Central Kitchen at wck.org or Winthrop Congregational United Church of Christ at www.wccucc.org