She loved horseback riding and piano playing, and attended Georgia Institute of Technology where she graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering in 1980. Kathy and her husband Jim moved to Sarasota in 1981, where she worked as a structural engineer until they started their family. Kathy enjoyed homeschooling her children and she and Jim established a memorial at ORU in memory of their deceased daughter Jamie Ann Popielinski. I addition to Jamie, Kathy is also predeceased by her first son Joseph, and her husband Jim.
Surviving are her children Kelly O’Shields, Joe Popielinski, and Katie Rose Johnson; two grandchildren, Jamie and Dawson Johnson. She is also survived by her mother, Suzanne McGuire Ratcliff, Brother Neal Warren McGuire, and sisters Suzanne Hall and Chris Davis. She has many brother and sisters in law and many nieces and nephews who will greatly miss her.
A visitation will be held on Friday, March 18, 2022 from 10-11 AM at Robert Toale and Sons – Wiegand Chapel, 7454 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34231, where a funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM. Burial will be private at Sarasota Memorial Park.
Memorial Contributions may be made to The Children’s Dream Fund | Helping Sick Kids Dream... Every Day https://childrensdreamfund.org/
For online tributes, please visit www.rtsfunerals.com
