Katharine Rubio Briggs

Kate was born in Chicago, IL to Alfred and Helen Schmidt Rubio, and grew up on the West Side of Chicago. She had a life-long connection to Addison Country, VT, and particularly Lake Dunmore, where she spent summers as a child with her sister, Ann, at her grandmother Ruth Cady Schmidt’s lakeside cottage. She attended Chicago Public Schools, participating in youth organizations both at her schools and at West Side Congregational Church.

After graduating from Swarthmore College in 1967 she earned a PhD in Political Science at State University of New York, Buffalo. Over the next decades she held a variety of professional positions in both the public and private sectors: Erie County New York Department of Public Welfare; Director of Human Resources at Lykes Steamship Company, New Orleans; Office Administrator at Wiedemann and Wiedemann (law firm), New Orleans. In 2001 she established the Bridge Lounge wine bar in the Lower Garden District.

Kate was a prominent and active member of NO/AIDS Task Force, an AIDS action and support organization, in the 1980’s, both as a fund-raiser and as a personal “buddy” providing support for people with AIDS.

Kate is survived by her beloved husband Sherwood Briggs; her ex-husband and friend Clark Murdock; her children, Jane Murdock, Jesse Murdock, and Ben Daniels; two stepsons, Joe Briggs and Jonathan Briggs; five grandchildren; and her sister, Ann Froines. She was pre-deceased by her son, Carlos Murdock.

She is also mourned by her extended family of aunts, cousins, nieces, and many close personal friends in New Orleans and Vermont. In particular, her close friends Randy Boudreaux of New Orleans, LA and Beth Quenneville of Brandon, VT provided Kate with loving care and companionship for as long as she knew them.

A very sociable and articulate person, Kate enjoyed bringing people together at events she organized. She could always be counted on in a crisis and was often able to assist family and friends during difficult times. She was a supporter of the arts in whatever community she lived and loved reading, crossword puzzles, gardening, tennis, and cooking. She also loved dogs, especially Maddie, her blue heeler.

She established a second home in Leicester, VT in 2004 when she rebuilt and launched a small farm with horses, chickens, goats, and rescued llamas and proudly fed her visiting family members with her home-grown vegetables. For some years in Vermont, she also worked part-time as a Zoning administrator. Her father spent his final years at her farm, enjoying the chores and the animals.

After the 2011 Tropical Storm Irene inflicted considerable damage in Vermont and on numerous buildings on Brandon’s main street, Kate invested in two historic commercial buildings, and with her contractor and friend Chris Conlin, worked to renovate them for new commercial and residential tenants. She was recognized for her efforts to restore the beauty and culture of the town.

Her dynamism, smile, and dry wit will remain forever in our hearts.

For information on the upcoming remembrance gathering for Kate, please email [email protected]