Kathleen Britt Herrman

Born to her parents, Horace and Elsie Britt, on June 25, 1947, Kathleen “Kay” grew up on Oakcrest Drive in Alexandria Virginia as the youngest of their four children. As an adult, when she reflected on her childhood she had touching memories of her family. Her dad loved to spend time with her by taking her on walks to get ice cream (the idea of ice cream always lit her up!). Her mom was a beautiful woman who loved her unconditionally and taught her by example how to be an incredible mother. Kathleen always deeply loved and admired her brother Jim and turned to him often for his advice and guidance. The fun she experienced with her two sisters, Mary Ann and Elizabeth (Betty), was only matched by the close bond they shared throughout their entire lives.

Kathleen was married to Thomas Wayne Herrman on December 19, 1967 in Alexandria, Virginia. They remained in Northern Virginia for several years before moving to Warrenton, Virginia where they stayed throughout the remainder of their marriage of 33 years. Here they grew their family and enjoyed being part of a small town community of family and friends.

Kathleen was a wonderful mother to four children, Susan Dawn, Wendy Allison, Mindy “Liz” Elizabeth and Daniel Thomas Herrman. Of all the roles she held in her life, the role of “Mom” (aka Mommio as she loved to be called) was the most important to her heart and soul. She treated her children like treasures, always providing them with never ending love and support and being their biggest cheerleader in life.

She loved every moment she built with her family in Warrenton Virginia, and she took intense pride in seeing her family expand with the births of her seven grandchildren, Leia, Rebecca, Madeline, John, Hunter, Emma and Sal and her 8 great grandsons and 2 great granddaughters - Logan - 8, Elliott - 7, Jonah - 5, Aurora - 5, Emberlynn - 4, Alex - 4, Samuel - 3, Abraham - 3, Hosea - 1, and Brooks - 6 weeks. She is fondly remembered by her older great-grandchildren as always having gum, gifting them with books and being sure they had adorable Christmas PJ’s.

Kathleen had many wonderful and close friends over the years however her lifelong friendships with Charles and Sandra Orye and their daughter Karen and Dr. Robert and Sharon Stickley were incredible blessings to her. They had many years of shenanigans and fun as family friends and supported each other through the ups and downs life offered over many, many years of friendship.

After attending Bluefield College, Kathleen initially worked for the Department of the Treasury as a top notch secretary in Washington, DC and was proud that she held such a position of high esteem. However, she learned that her true passion was in caring for her family, rearing her children, fostering and adopting children and working professionally in childcare education and development. She began and ended her professional career with Tiny Tots at the Warrenton Baptist Church in Warrenton, VA, working on and off there over the course of about 15 years. Preschoolers held a special place in her heart and she was truly a beloved teacher to the parents she served. She also became a well-loved and respected preschool teacher at Rainbow Station in Richmond, Virginia and won the recognition of Teacher of the Year Award for the year she worked at that facility.

A wonderful tradition of Kathleen’s family began with her Aunt Olivette Marshall - who provided everyone she loved with a hand-knitted stocking for Christmas. Kathleen decided to continue the tradition for her family and had one-on-one training from her creative aunt. She became the “Knitter of the Stockings” for her family and friends and created many beautiful stockings over the years along with the help of her cousin, Susie. They are treasures for all who were blessed to receive them.

Kathleen developed a love and respect for being a minimalist in her post-retirement years. She embraced the ideas of the Amish culture and always had the desire to be able to do more in that vein - including having her own garden, clothesline, and only owning the things she truly needed.

She was a determined woman with strong values. When something was important to her - she went after it with all she could give. One example of her dedicated spirit was when, never having been a runner in her life, she decided to train for a race. At age 56, she ran proudly in the 2004 Ukrops Monument Avenue 10K in loving memory of one of her former students, Edward Kurtz, who had passed away at 4 years old.

Kathleen was a deeply spiritual woman who had a strong love for and relationship with God. She read her devotional and Bible, she prayed for all in need and she wrote in her gratitude journal daily. She was deeply thankful for all of the blessings in her life no matter how large or small. She knew she was loved.

Kathleen will always be remembered for her loving nature, her kind and generous spirit, her desire to always work to live a better life and her unconditional love for her family. We will always think of her when we hear the birds sing, hear the theme song to her favorite TV show, “Everybody Loves Raymond”, when we see a Santa collectable or one of her stockings, if we drive past a home with a clothesline, hear children laughing and playing or think of the movie “Sister Act”. Her beautiful memory continues to grow inside of our hearts.

Kathleen was preceded in death by her father, Horace J. Britt and her mother, Elsie R. Britt, and her sisters, Mary Ann Strobel and Elizabeth Britt. She is survived by her brother, James Britt and his wife Martha, and her children Susan Gross, Wendy Beasley and her husband Mark, Liz Herrman and Danny Herrman, many cousins, nieces and nephews, grandchildren and their spouses and great-grandchildren.

Her family invites you to attend a service to remember Kathleen and to celebrate her life at Nelsen Funeral Home, 412 S Washington Hwy, Ashland VA on Friday, March 1, 2024 at 11:00 am. As she requested, the service will be followed by a celebratory reception (details to follow)- with lots of ice cream - her favorite.

In lieu of flowers, her family requests that donations be made to: Boys and Girls Clubs of America. If you would like to share that you made a donation with the family, when making the donation please select the box to “Dedicate this donation” on the first screen and on the last screen send emails to Susan Gross at the following email address: [email protected].