Katharine Ostrander

1924 - 2019

Katharine Ostrander
Katharine Helen Ostrander died on January 17, 2019 in Newport, Rhode Island. She was 94. Born in Detroit to Perry and Marianna Hill, she moved to Newport as a teenager and graduated from the Lincoln School for Girls in Providence. She graduated from Swarthmore College magna cum laude in 1946, having studied history and philosophy. She married Gilman Ostrander and moved to Berkeley, California, and later to Portland, Oregon, Ohio State University, and St. Louis. She earned her Master of Social Work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She was a social worker for the state of Wisconsin and then taught at the University of Wisconsin School of Social Work. In 1975 she moved to Newport and later founded the social work department at Salve Regina College. She was instrumental in leading the Dr. Martin Luther King Community Center in Newport through a difficult time. She is survived by her son Robert Ostrander, daughter-in-law Jennifer Ostrander, two grandchildren, and many devoted nieces and nephews. Her son David Ostrander died in 2003. Donations in her memory may be made to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commnity Center, 20 Dr. Marcus F. Wheatland Blvd, Newport, RI 02840