Virginia Beach, VA

Kate A. Stevens (Gertrue Evelyn Marburger, Gertrue Mitchell)

Kate A. Stevens passed away on July 27, 2011 at her home within the Bay Lake Assisted Living community.

Kate A Steven was born Gertrue Evelyn Marburger on April 23, 1930 in Baltimore, MD. She was the second daughter of Thomas Edwin Marburger and Dorothy Stevens, and grew up in a family that prized hard work and education.

Gert graduated from Girls Latin High School in Baltimore, MD. She received a Bachelor's in Journalism from Syracuse University in New York. While at Syracuse, she met and married Dean Lewis Mitchell. He pursued his PhD in Physics and together they started a family.

When Dean received his PhD in Physics, the young family moved to the Washington, DC area.

While living in the DC area, Gert obtained a Master's Degree. She wrote freelance articles and taught literature at the college level for several years before finding more permanent work in journalism.

The highpoint of her career was being the Writer/Editor for the magazine American Education, published by the U.S. Department of Education in the 1970's. She also worked at the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

Upon her divorce from Dean Mitchell, Gert re-invented herself. She legally changed her name from Gertrue Mitchell to Kate A Stevens. She was tired of having a "d" added to her name and being called Gertrude. She moved from the Washington DC area to Atlanta, Georgia.

While in Atlanta, Kate worked at INPO (Institute of Nuclear Power Operations) as a technical editor. Early in her life she was a Brooklyn Dodgers fan, then a Baltimore Orioles fan. But late in life Kate became an avid Atlanta Braves fan. She could "Tomahawk chop" from the stands with the best of them.

She also became a born again Christian and joined a church that was active in missionary work. Her favorite memories of her mission trips included puppet shows she helped put on for children in the Ukraine. Kate's dream after retiring was to spend a year doing missionary work in China, but that was not to be.

Kate moved to Virginia Beach, VA in 2003 to live in the Bay Lake Retirement and Assisted Living community, near her youngest daughter Elaine. Bay Lake looks like the mansion in the movie "Gone With the Wind". Kate spent almost 8 years at Bay Lake, first in her own apartment and later in the Memory Care unit. Her life there was enriched by the kindest and most caring staff one could hope for. It was touching to see how many of them came to affectionately hug or kiss Kate in her final days, and to realize how much they had come to care about Kate.

Kate enjoyed the park next to Bay Lake and took many walks there when her health allowed. A park bench dedicated in her name by her children and grandchildren overlooks a park fountain. She celebrated her 75th birthday at Bay Lake with a party attended by many of her family & friends.

Kate went into Hospice in October 2009. Always a wild card and overachiever, she defied the usual Alzheimer's script and enjoyed visits from her children, sister, cousin and others up to the final month of her life.

Kate is survived by her four children and four grandchildren: Dale Mitchell (Allan Zaspel), Claire Levy (Robert Levy, Sarah & Matthew), Jay Mitchell (Raynor Taylor) and Elaine Barnes (Brooke, Kyle); and sister, Betty Umbach (Roger Umbach). A memorial service to honor Kate's life will be scheduled at the Bay Lake Assisted Living facility. A private memorial service for family and close friends will be scheduled at a later date in Bethesda, MD.