Kathryn L. Burdette

Kathryn Mary Lynch Burdette passed away peacefully in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, on April 23, 2014, at the age of 91. Mrs. Burdette was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 12, 1922. She attended the Southwest School for primary education and was graduated from Bulkeley High School in 1939. She earned a bachelor's degree in biology from St. Joseph College in 1943 and a master's degree in nursing from Yale University in 1946. During Mrs. Burdette's nursing career she held positions with the Cadet Nurse Corps, New Haven Hospital, Hartford Institute for Living, the Ochsner Clinic, New Orleans Charity Hospital, and Beckett Academy. She had a deep abiding faith and was a member of Saint John Parish in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

Mrs. Burdette loved to laugh with family and friends. Her good humor, unassuming manner, and the simplicity of her life cloaked the complexity of her intellect, wisdom, and caring. Occasionally the cloak was lifted when one realized the depth of the effect of her counsel or, perhaps, if one noticed the pile of books by her chair or that she just finished the latest New York Times Sunday crossword - in pen.

Her lifelong connection to the sea arose during family trips with Mrs. Burdette's parents, Kathryn Mary and William Thomas Lynch, and her two sisters to Misquamicut, Gloucester, Madison, and Old Lyme, throughout her life during visits to Old Lyme Shores with her children, and more recently in her Old Saybrook home. In addition to Old Saybrook, Mrs. Burdette lived in New Orleans, London, Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri, Salt Lake City, Houston, and Chester, Connecticut. Mrs. Burdette traveled throughout the United States and abroad to Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, England, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, and Sweden.

Mrs. Burdette is survived by her daughter Susan Burdette Radoux and husband Victor Radoux, son William James Burdette and Virginia Leigh Anderson, step-granddaughter Catherine Bergeron-Radoux, and many nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her two sisters Mary Kathryn DiRoberts and Ruth Mary Dunn.

A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, May 24, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. at Saint John Church, 161 Main Street, Old Saybrook, Connecticut. The family would like to express gratitude to Laurie Lenihan and nieces Kathryn Bassett and Mary Miner who were present during Mrs. Burdette's final hours. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made to Catholic Charities, Diocese of Norwich, 331 Main Street, Norwich, Connecticut 06360, (860) 889-8346, ext. 285.