Kathryn "Katy" Grace

Katy’s great networks of friends through life have lost an amazing woman. Katy was a friend to anyone she met. She helped physically challenged children as a school-based occupational therapist for over 30 years in southern Idaho, Cleveland, OH, and Buffalo, NY. In retirement in Ithaca, NY, Katy was a proud member and past president of the Tompkins County Quilter’s Guild, an active P.E.O. sister, and a joyful singer in the Ithaca Community Chorus. A lifelong Episcopalian, Katy was always involved with her church, and she left her mark on others as a kind and loving person many looked up too, even though she was not tall. 

Whenever possible, Katy traveled to North Carolina to join her son Tyler at art and quilt shows and to be with her grandsons. Katy spent a year in Madrid studying Spanish for her Master’s degree, where she married Harry Grace. Later she traveled to Senegal, West Africa; Haiti; and Jerusalem to be with her daughter, Kristen. In fulfillment of a lifetime dream, Katy, Kristen, and Kate, her granddaughter to whom she taught Spanish, all traveled back to Spain together.

Katy died suddenly following a fall that led to a broken arm and an indirect injury to her head that would prove too much. She died peacefully with her daughter at her side. She is pre-deceased by her parents and sister, Joanna Cragun Tinius, and survived by her husband, Harry T. Grace, Jr.; children, Kristen Grace (Brendan Wyly) and Tyler Grace (Stacy Grace); three grandchildren, Kathryn “Kate” Wyly, Johnathan Grace and Alex Grace; four nieces and nephews; and her recently discovered half-brother, Toby Perkins (Susan Buyer) .

Katy was an avid supporter of the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra and CCO Youth Orchestra where she was a devoted volunteer. She was concerned about the environment and social justice. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages contributions to the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra or the Dorothy Cotton Institute.

During the time of COVID-19, the family arranged a private burial at Greensprings Natural Cemetery Preserve on July 21, 2020, with plans for a later public memorial.