Kathryn (Kathi) Lou Jenkins quietly passed away on October 8, 2024 in her apartment on Ruston Way in Tacoma, WA.

Her passing was preceded by her father, Merlin Jenkins, and she is survived by her mother, Lois Morgensen, brother, Michael Jenkins, nieces, Cindy Williams, Marcy Purdy, their husbands Bentley Williams and Marcel Purdy and their children, Caden and Karli Williams and Madeline Hamilton and Mya Purdy, respectively. Her constant companion, Cooper, was by her side at the time.

Kathi was raised in a family that loved to explore what the Northwest had to offer and she never let that sense of adventure leave her, even after she suffered a stroke and limitations kept her from living a normal life. She fought to make things as normal as she could and with the support of family and friends, she was encouraged to make the best of it. During all that time, Cooper was right there with her.

She graduated from Ballard High School in Seattle in 1965, then went to Olympic College in Bremerton, WA, where she got her teaching degree. Kathi’s career spanned from being a teacher, to driving the holiday delivery routes for UPS where she eventually became one of the first female managers. She was deeply respected and loved by all those who worked with her.

Her love of the water put her in a house on Beach Drive in Alki and when she retired, she moved to Vashon Island where she lived in two different homes “on the water” until she suffered her stroke in the late summer of ’2021. She eventually moved to Ruston Way next to her love, the water where she happily lived until her untimely passing.

Several organizations on Vashon Island were beneficiaries of Kathi’s philanthropy, support and voluntary spirit over the years she lived there. She was a past board member of the Dove Project where she was a passionate advocate for addressing domestic violence and providing support to those in need. As a board member for the Vashon Center for the Arts (formerly Vashon Allied Arts) where she was a driving force in helping the organization obtain funds to build their state-of-the-art performance center.

Kathi was also a driving member of the Vashon Island Eagles helped to clear the way for many improvements in the organization. She lived as a huge patron of the arts who supported many of the local artists on the island and, last but not least, she was elected as Vashon Island’s “honorary” mayor.

Kathi has left an indelible mark on many people throughout her full enriched life. We should always remember her for who she was as a person, what she did and how much she loved her immediate and extended family and her huge family of friends.

The family is planning her celebration of life for February 22, 2025, at the Vashon Center for the Arts on Vashon Island. They will let you know as soon as we have all the details are confirmed.

The family requests that donations in Kathi’s memory be directed to The DOVE Project (https://www.vashondoveproject.org), or the Vashon Center for the Arts (https://vashoncenterforthearts.org). Contact them directly. Also, here is a link to her Memory page: https://www.weeksfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/kathrynlou-jenkins.