Obituary of Katherine Mutty

Katherine A. Mutty of Rome, NY, passed away peacefully on June 8 at Abraham House with her entire family at her side. Born in London, Ontario on September 28, 1943, she was the daughter of Ralph and Marion Kipp and was educated at Mount St. Joseph Academy in London. She received her B.A. from St. Bonaventure University in 1981 with a double major in English and Theology, graduating summa cum laude. She continued postgraduate studies at St. Bonaventure in Franciscan and Medieval Studies. 

In 1969 Kathy married her husband Richard in Montreal, a union of 55 years. They then began a series of moves as he completed his orthopaedic training. They started with Burlington, VT, came back to Montreal and then on to St. John’s, Newfoundland. After another move to Auburn, ME in 1974, they settled in Olean, NY in 1975, where they raised three children, Elizabeth, Christopher, and Shannon. 

After Kathy moved with Richard to Rome, NY in 1994, she became his business manager, a role to which she devoted herself to fully and continued up until her death.

Kathy had a lifetime love of learning and pursued a wide variety of interests. While living in Montreal, she sewed costumes for a French-Canadian classic theatre group. As a young wife and mother she took up pottery and painting, and eventually became an accomplished photographer with her beloved Nikon and telephoto lens. She played guitar and sang folk tunes such as “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore” and “Froggy Went A-Courting” to her children before bedtime. 

Kathy became a runner in the 70’s, as well as a staunch vegetarian in the mid-80’s, both long before they became mainstream. The latter came as no surprise to those who knew of her love of animals - especially the cats she rescued from shelters and brought home. 

Throughout her life, Kathy enjoyed adding new languages to her repertoire beginning with French which she could speak fluently while living in Montreal. She also studied German and Russian, among others, but her favorite was Italian. It was not unusual to hear her practicing well into the wee hours.

While Kathy remained a proud Canadian citizen her whole life, she was nonetheless a loyal supporter of the Democratic Party, beginning with her active membership in the League of Women Voters in Maine and continuing through her contributions to presidential campaigns. She maintained a keen interest in political and current affairs her entire life, and always enjoyed a lively discussion on the latest news. 

No description of Kathy’s life could be complete without mention of her deep, abiding, profound love of literature and films. Her collection of books was impressively vast and all-encompassing, ranging from the classics to cookbooks and everything in between - but above all, the mysteries. An Agatha Christie or Ngaio Marsh novel was never far from her reach. Her book collection, numbering in the thousands, was only rivaled by that of movies, including every film Humphrey Bogart ever made. 

Kathy was preceded in death by her parents, Ralph and Marion Kipp. She is survived by her husband, Richard, daughter Elizabeth Gallotta (Ted Summers), son Christopher Mutty (Mindee), and daughter Shannon Gould (Robert). She is also survived by her five beloved grandchildren Tim, Elise, Caroline, Vivian and Beatrice, and brother-in-law Marc (Pam).

A celebration of Kathy’s life will take place at 11AM on Saturday June 15, 2024 at Strong-Burns and Sprock Funeral Home, 7751 Merrick Rd. All are invited to call from 10:30-11AM prior to the service.

The family would like to acknowledge the kind and wonderful care she received by the caregivers at Abraham House. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to either the Abraham House, info@theabrahamhouse.org or the Humane Society of Rome, humanesocietyrome.com/memorial-donation.