Kathryn Kitty Williams Karst passed away July 27, 2011, at the VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach. A resident of Vero Beach since 1953, Kitty was born in Bradenton, Florida, on October 7, 1922. Her family later moved to Apopka and Orlando, where she was an honors graduate from Orlando High School in 1940. As a young woman, Kitty worked for the local telephone company, as well as the personal secretary to a colonel at Orlando Air Force Base during World War II. It was at a USO dance that she met her future husband Arthur Art Karst. Art and Kitty married in 1946, and later moved with their children to Vero Beach in 1953. Kitty was a homemaker and actively involved in several organizations she enjoyed, including the Garden Club, PEO philanthropy, and Sunday School class at First United Methodist Church. Kitty was dedicated to being involved in her childrens lives, serving as a Girl Scout leader, and a volunteer in the student clinic at Vero Beach High School. Kitty was a dedicated University of Florida Gators fan, no matter the sport, and enjoyed attending games. She greatly enjoyed playing golf and tennis, the ocean, and boating with her family and friends, and plays at the Riverside Theater and Vero Beach Theater Guild. She was an avid reader and crossword puzzle enthusiast, an excellent bridge player, and loved playing bridge for many years with Art and their friends, as well as later with several groups with friends weekly, and at the Vero Beach Bridge Club. She will be remembered for her generosity, hospitality, quick wit, and engaging personality. Kitty was predeceased by her husband Art and brother Jack Williams. She will be missed greatly by her surviving children, Arthur, Jr. (Anita), Jacelyn Prichard (Alan), Janice Karst, and Sharon Oescher (Jim), grandchildren Kelly (Lofton) Fairchild, Katy (Justin) Faires, Bekah (Tony) Conti, Claire Karst, McKenzie Oescher, and Jay ( Angela) Spear; great grandchildren Elise and Laine Fairchild, Caroline Faires, Olivia and Anna Spear; and sister Barbara Aldinger of Orlando. Special thanks from the family go to the dedication of her loving friends, the staff at Royal Palm Convalescent Center, Florida Baptist Retirement Center, and VNA Hospice House. The family will receive friends from 4 to 7 PM on Friday, July 29, 2011, at Cox-Gifford Seawinds Funeral Home, 1950 20th Street, Vero Beach, and a celebration of Kathryns life will be held at 10 AM on Saturday, July 30, 2011, at the First United Methodist Church, 1750 20th Street in Vero Beach. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions in honor of Kathryn Karst may be made to VNA Hospice or the First United Methodist Church in Vero Beach.
Arrangements are under the direction Cox-Gifford-Seawinds Funeral Home & Crematory, Vero Beach, FL. Condolences may be sent to www.coxgiffordseawinds.com