Katherine Ann Skok

God called Katherine Ann Skok, age 91, home on July 24, 2015 after a short illness.

Kathy was a loving daughter, wife, sister, grandmother and aunt who brought a sparkling smile into any room she entered. She was born September 26, 1923, to Irish immigrants Patrick O’Brien (County Cork) and ?C?atie Bergin O’Brien (County Kilkenny). Patrick and Catie raised their family in the Hillman City neighborhood of Seattle’s Rainier Valley. They were founding members of St. Edward Parish and Kathy and her siblings attended the parish school. The O’Briens were rich spiritually but not materially; as a child, Kathy was hugely excited when her father traded in their Ford Model T for a 1930’s Dodge.

After attending Immaculate Conception High School (Class of 1941), Kathy did secretarial jobs before meeting the love of her life, Frank Skok, of Jump Off, Washington, a Navy veteran and UW graduate. They were married in 1952, and amidst the births of their children (Neal, Jill, Joel, and Bill), they built a house on Mercer Island in 1958 (Her sister said at the time, “Why do you want to move way out there into the woods”?).

The cornerstone of that time was the many gatherings with Kathy’s O’Brien clan, and Frank’s sprawling family-he had eight brothers and six sisters. Frank passed away in 1969, and Kathy became a secretary at Mercer Island High School. Kathy rolled through the years of raising a family and working full time with grace and good humor. That her four children all earned college degrees gave her unending happiness.

After retirement in 1989, she stepped up an active life of church activities (at St. Monica, where she was a founding member) traveling, belonging to clubs, attending theater, both hosting and attending parties, always a happy member of many groups of friends.

We, her children, loved her because she was our best friend and biggest fan. We could tease her, laugh with her, talk with her. Her kitchen gatherings and dinners were always a special time, her house a place of happiness, her manner gracious, kind, loving, optimistic, and spiritual.

Kathy is survived by her children Neal (Janet), Jill (Bob), Joel (Flo), and Bill (Katherine Marie), and grandchildren Peter, Daniel, Lorena, Jesse, Hannah, Charlie, and William. She was preceded in death by her husband Frank, her sisters Mary and Agnes Rose, and her brothers Pat, Bill, Ed, and Tom.

Kathy and Frank were married in 1952 by her Brother-in-Law, Rev. Charles Skok. He and Rev. Pat Freitag concelebrated Kathy’s Mass of Christian Burial, Friday, July 31, at St. Monica Catholic Church, Mercer Island.