KATHERINE RUDY
03/01/1956 - 12/05/2022
Katherine Ruth Johnson Rudy died on December 5, 2022, with her family at her side following a recurrence of cancer. Kathy was born in Oakland, California, on March 1, 1956, to Bruce and Barbara Johnson. Bruce was a Congregational Minister in the United Church of Christ, serving churches in Southern California. At seven years old, Kathy and her family moved to Fullerton, California, where Bruce served as Minister of the Congregational Church of Fullerton. Kathy graduated from Troy High School and went on to attend Raymond College at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. Between classes and work, Kathy became very involved in student government and event planning. She became an advisor to incoming students and supervised freshman registration – where she encountered a bewildered seventeen-year-old from Texas - Russell Rudy, whom she would marry in 1982. Kathy was accepted at Stanford Law School but chose to follow Russell to Texas, where she graduated from the University of Houston College of Law. Kathy and Russell began acquiring oil and gas interests, and Kathy continued working on the accounting portion of that enterprise well after her beautiful children Austin and Allison were born.
Kathy was an avid antique doll collector and enjoyed the company of fellow enthusiasts as a member of Doll Collectors of Houston. She taught Sunday School and helped with events and planning at the First Congregational Church of Houston. Kathy was THE consummate Mom and devoted a substantial portion of her time helping at Hunters Creek Elementary School. Tragically, Kathy developed a brain tumor and began a heroic fight for her life and to be present for her children and family. Against all odds, Kathy survived for nearly twenty-five years. Although slowed down by rightside paralysis and afflicted with severe aphasia, Kathy made the most of her life. She was eternally a most compassionate, loving, thoughtful, optimistic and inspirational individual. Kathy touched the lives of everyone she met, never letting any obstacle hinder her ability to care for others.
With the aid of devoted helpers Laurnia Taylor, Cecilia Maya, Vee Reynolds, and others, Kathy was able to travel, enjoy family time in Colorado, and live a determined and self-directed life.
We are still indebted to the brilliant surgical expertise of Dr. David Baskin at Methodist, and the endless hours of physical therapy conducted by our dear friend Lee Ann Kozak, and the kind, and in some cases decades-long support given to our entire family by friends from 1997 to the present.
Kathy is survived by her husband Russell T. Rudy, son, Austin Ellis Rudy of Houston, daughter, Allison W. Rudy of Denver, CO., Mother Barbara Wolfe Johnson of Fullerton, CA, sisters Lory Motter and husband Jim Motter of College Station, TX, Judy Del Monte and husband John Del Monte of Houston, Christie Murphy and husband Tim Murphy of Hillsboro, OR, and brother David Johnson and wife Julie Scott of Fullerton, CA. Mother-in-Law Beverly Diamond Rudy, of Houston, TX, Brother-inLaw Randy Rudy and wife, Karen Rudy of Austin, TX. She is also survived by many loving cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Memorial Services will be held on Tuesday, December 13, at 3:30pm, at the First Congregational Church of Houston, 10840 Beinhorn Rd., Houston.