Katherine Elizabeth Stradley of Crofton, Maryland passed away on Thursday, May 14, 2020. Katherine was the wife of the late Phillip Robert Stradley; mother of Charlene A. Stratton (MD), Christine L. Slay (CA), Colleen D. Klobucar (MI) and the late Laura A. Wright (MD) and Steven D. Stradley (CA); sister of Gloria Sweeney and the late Neoma Litzenberg; grandmother of Philip (Miranda) Stratton, Channa (Drew) Kinohi, Nicole (Christopher) Bilich, Alicia (Luke) Surburg, Amy (Dakota) Penny, Brandi (Mike) Fimbres-Clark, Rachel Wright, Jonathon (Samantha) Klobucar, Justin Klobucar, and the late Richard Wright; great-grandmother of Gage and James Kinohi, Sydney Stratton, Aiden and Ian Fimbres, Brooklyn Bilich, and Jacob, Lucas, William, and Daniel Clark and Delilah, Colin, and Riley Andrusko.
Katherine was born on January 18, 1930 in Toppenish, Yakima County, Washington, the youngest of six siblings. The Great Depression of the 1930s spared county families of some of the hardships, as Yakima County was the fifth largest county in the U.S. for total agricultural production. Those who remembered that time, often remarked that although money was sparse, food was plentiful, hard work was required and bartering was common place. Family was the center and of the greatest importance to Katherine (Kay). She married Phil Stradley in Seattle, Washington after his military service and they began building their own tight-knit family. During the 50’s and 60’s while raising her family, Kay worked periodically in retail accounting management and some banking. She was also a very talented seamstress and her creative side lead to other art forms. Over the many years she indulged very passionately in ceramics, painting, decorating and porcelain doll making. Beginning in the 70’s she spent a great deal of time doing family genealogy and researching historical records, maps, and heritage traditions. She acquired an extensive collection of books and original documents while traveling to parts of the U.S., meeting with many people while attending conferences and conventions. Katherine has imparted her enthusiasm, passions, learning and knowledge to all as her legacy. We will miss her.
Family and friends will gather at the Robert E. Evans Funeral Home, 16000 Annapolis Road, Bowie, Maryland 20715 from 6 to 8 pm Thursday, May 21, 2020. A graveside service will be held at 11 am, Friday, May 22, 2020 at Lakemont Memorial Gardens, 900 West Central Avenue, Davidsonville, Maryland. If desired, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association.
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