Katherine Foote

Obituary of Katherine FooteFOOTE, KATHERINE - Passed away peacefully on October 5, 2013 with her loving son Arthur and daughter Priscilla by her side. She was 26 days short of her 101st birthday. Her wonderful heart started beating on October 31, 1912 and carried her through life non-stop for 36,839 days until it finally decided it was time for Kitty's next big adventure. There was not one of those days on Earth that she did not make the most of. Born on a farm in Northampton County Pennsylvania she moved by herself to New York City of the Roaring 20's, and upon stepping out of the train station in mid-town Manhattan for the very first time, she threw up her hands and proclaimed "This is MY TOWN!" She eventually landed a job with the help of golfing legend Gene Sarazen on the brand new Empire State Building as a waitress in The Tea Room on the 86th floor observation deck. It was there she met such famous notables as Winston Churchill, Babe Ruth, FDR, Al Smith, and a certain photographer for the Empire State Building named Alden Foote, who she later married and with whom she had four children, all surviving, Charles, Priscilla, Alden Jr., and Arthur. She is also survived by multiple grandchildren, Joseph, Jesse, Jennifer, Tracy, and Ian, and great grandchildren, Sydney, Lila, Jenna, Luke, Jayden, Lila , Gavin and Cole.She was without a doubt the most motivated self-starting person in the world - who, according to those who knew her best, never had a boring moment in her life. She never missed a day of work and would get up in the morning and attack mundane chores without complaint and always whistled (or hummed) while she worked.She had numerous skills and hobbies, all invariably self-taught, which ranged from her tremendous culinary abilities, to knitting and crocheting, to being a masterful gardener, and being a surprisingly able "handyman" who would never wait for a repairman if she could help it. In her retirement which lasted over 35 years she was an insatiable reader who often remarked that she had lived a hundred lifetimes through books. She had a beautiful personality and an exceptional sense of humor and no one who ever heard her laughter would ever forget it. One of her favorite true stories was not that she danced with a 17-year old skinny kid named Frank Sinatra on an around-Manhattan evening cruise, but that she refused a second dance with him because he was too young for her, and told him so. She lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, Prohibition and so many events of both the 20th and 21st Centuries. Her son Alden Jr. wrote a play about her that was loved by all who have seen it called "The Angel of Chatham Square" which chronicled events in her life in post war New York in the '40's.Her last cognizant words in this life were "Look at the beautiful butterflies!" as she sat on her porch in Ocala, Florida.Surely, Katherine Foote entered the Kingdom of Heaven as a first ballot Hall-of-Fame woman, mother and human being.She will be always be greatly loved and sorely missed. A life well lived.

Katherine Foote

December 31, 1969 - October 5, 2013