Eddie Ruth "Kate" Filer

If you asked her, she would say she had a perfect life.

She was born in Shaw, Mississippi, in 1933 to Henry Cornelius Palmer and Emma Leona Garrad as one of nine children.

When she reminisced, she would talk about how close her family was and the fun she had. She talked about her father’s sense of humor and the pranks he played, singing along to the Hit Parade with her sister, Claudia, certain they were star-quality singers, and the wonderful meals her mother made.

She was close with her entire family but especially Bess, her sister Mary’s oldest daughter, who was near her age.

After Mary moved to Covington, Kentucky, with her husband, Joe Clifton, at Bess’s request, she asked Kate if she wanted to move there with them. She said yes and soon started a job at Union Central as a switchboard operator.

It was in Covington that she met her husband-to-be, Jim. She was walking to the grocery store and saw him working on his motorcycle. They spoke, and she soon started walking to the grocery store more often. During one of their conversations, he asked if she liked to dance and when she said yes, he asked her on a date to go on the Delta Queen, a riverboat in Cincinnati.

They were together ever since. She’s often said that meeting him was the best day of her life. They married in 1957 and had three children.

His job eventually took them to Louisville, Kentucky. She became a teacher’s aide, working at various schools until her retirement. She loved it. She had such an affinity for children. If she saw a little one while she was out, she would ask their parents if she could talk with them, and it was always a genuinely sweet interaction that also left the parents smiling.

She loved people and was happiest when she was around them. She could talk to anyone. She also loved to dance. She and Jim became such good dancers that others would clear the floor to watch them.

At a young age, she learned how to sew and used that skill to make a new dress for herself whenever she wanted one. She later made clothes for her kids, including pantsuits and smocks for her daughter, along with groovy peasant shirts, a Coca-Cola hat and furry footballs in the '70s for her sons. She later made hundreds of pillowcase dresses for a charitable organization that provided them to young girls in Africa.

She was a gardener and canner, an avid yardsaler and a camper. She and Jim, and later their family, went on trips throughout her life. She had a special fondness for her fellow Sebring campers, many of whom became lifelong friends.

One of the most lasting impressions she leaves is simply the type of person she was. She was genuinely and deeply kind, generous and gracious and had a deep-rooted commitment to doing what was right.

Hers was a personality that could be a lot to live up to, but one that made you want to.

She is predeceased by her beloved husband, Jimmie Lee Filer; her father, Henry Cornelius Palmer; mother, Emma Leona Garrad; sisters Mary Elizabeth Clifton, Vera Pearl Barlow, “Claudia” Bessie Lee Clifton, and Ruby Beatrice Jennings; and brothers John D. Palmer, Marion Alexander Palmer, Cliff Palmer, and Henry Franklin Palmer.

Left to cherish her memory are her children Terry Filer (Dee); daughter, Debbie Filer; son, Tim Filer (Mary Jo); grandchildren, Christina Filer Larson, Jacob Filer and Hope McCarty; and great-grandchildren, Kate and Calvin Larson.

She will be deeply missed by her family, who adored everything about her, and will continue to be an inspiration to all those who knew her.

Visitation will be 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, November 5, 2026, at Arch L Heady at Resthaven, 4400 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40218. Kate will be laid to rest privately at Resthaven Memorial Park.