Kathryn Frances Bessin

Kathryn Bessin (1942-2024) was born in Ishpeming, Michigan with red hair and a passion for blazing her own trail. She was pure of heart and took guff from no one. She was a shiksa raised in Appleton, WI who married a mensch raised in Brooklyn. She left joy in her wake, and she will be deeply missed.

Kate was the fourth of five children born to Edward and Alice "Farney" Nowell. Like her brothers and sisters, Kate was raised with love and a strong will to live without limit, so it's no surprise that at 19, she put herself on a cruise to Europe with a good friend and a few dollars.

She left a country girl and returned a city girl, choosing to settle down in New York City. Dressed to the nines, this Twiggy-shaped, strawberry-feathered new cosmopolitan brought her cosmetology skills to United Airlines, where she became their Stewardess Appearance Coordinator. Kate strode the halls of JFK Airport, making sure all hair was coiffed, and all dresses were properly pleated. She also met her future husband of twenty-five years, Steve, on the concourse.

Motherhood came naturally. She was devoted to her two sons, Geoffrey and Jonathan, and actively participated in all aspects of their lives, including the Judaism so important to their father. Kate graced mikvahs, high holiday services, and bar mitzvahs with an aristocratic nose and blood from the kings of Ireland flowing through her veins. Queens, NY couldn't resist someone so damn cute, likable, and competent. She fit right into the melting pot.

Life moved the family to Miami, another mix of cultures and backgrounds from all over the world - so, of course, this Wisconsin girl fit right in. She found herself in the role of Office Manager for a couple of cardiologists, discovering two things: a job perfect for her tenacity and the last true love of her life. She worked there for 35 years, spanning the marriage of her sons, the birth of her grandchildren, and - after decades together - a relationship with her cardiologist boss, Ron Flam. A Jewish doctor boyfriend, enough to make any mother proud.

Kate: Hobby? Loved to read, especially pulp mysteries. Always a book by her bed. Plus, she could knit something fierce. Cooking? Pretty lousy, though she somehow managed to make a damn good sauce. Energetic? She was a mascot at her local gym, cranking through spin classes at 80. Kate walked fast and got things done. Happy? The sound Geoffrey and Jonathan will remember most is her laughter. Boy, could they make her laugh - and so could everyone else. Storyteller? What could be said in thirty words, she said in 300. But the journey was an adventure.

Independent? This lady loved Ron fiercely, but there was no way she would move out of her home. Kate had her BBC shows, her friends, her habits. She was independent to the end. Well, except to the very end, when she had to depend on others. That's how you knew dementia had changed her. Death was surely, after months of fighting, her last act of agency.

Kate leaves her oldest brother Jim and youngest sister Anna, predeceased by her brother Peter and sister Rosemary. She leaves her boys Geoffrey (and Shannon) and Jonathan (and Michelle), and her grandchildren, Archer, Skyler, Andrew, and Noah. She leaves the father of her children, Stephen, and her cherished companion, Ron. She leaves countless friends and acquaintances in every place she lived and worked. It is a loss.

Kate's ashes will be buried with her parents in Appleton. In lieu of cards or flowers, consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Association.