Kathryn Drexel Dickerson

Kathryn was born on September 6, 1920 in Bogota, Columbia to Charles Francis Drexel II and Kathleen Blanche Holmes. After a year in South America, the family worked and lived in Washington DC, Wayne County, MO, Lubbock, TX, and Colorado. Kathryn graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1942, majoring in English and minoring in foreign languages. After college she moved to San Francisco, CA to work for an import/export company. In 1943, Kathryn joined the United States Coast Guard to support the WWII war effort, working in recruitment and cryptography.

After the war, Kathryn returned to work, joining the Civil Service Commission in Denver where she met her husband, William M Dickerson. They married on December 20, 1948 and raised their two children while traveling with the USAF. They settled in Houston, TX in 1967.

In 1976, after her children were in college, Kathryn returned to the workforce with the University of Houston, Clear Lake where she worked for 30 years as an admissions counselor and the associate director for international student services. While working, she earned her master’s degree in humanities. She loved the arts; opera, symphony, plays, museums and in contrast, she also loved the Houston Astros. She played bridge and golf, studied Chinese, Russian and Italian, but her greatest passion was for the written word. She simply loved to read and to learn.

Kathryn is preceded in death by her husband William M Dickerson, her son Dale Drexel Dickerson I, and her brother Charles Francis Drexel III. Kathryn is survived by her daughter Kathleen Anne Dickerson of Houston, her grandson Dale Drexel Dickerson II and his wife Jennifer Beal Dickerson, her great grandson Jude Drexel Dickerson, all of Virginia Beach, VA, and many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 12:30 PM on Saturday, February 11, 2017 in the Chapel at Forest Park East Funeral Home, 21620 Gulf Fwy, Webster, TX.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Kathryn F Dickerson Scholarship Fund, University of Houston-Clear Lake, Office of University Advancement, 2700 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston, TX 77058, C/O Kim Herhold.