Katherine H. Sprague

Katherine Elizabeth Hussey Sprague of Raleigh, NC passed away July 18, 2009 at Sunnybrook Healthcare. She was born April 8, 1916 in Corning, NY to Patrick and Elizabeth Mahoney Hussey. She had one sister, Margaret (Sister Mary Patrice), 1911 – 2003, and one brother, William, 1913 – 1989. She married Frank J. Sprague in 1948 (he passed away in 1967). His career was in advertising sales and he was a talented photographer. She is survived by daughters, Elizabeth Sprague Holt and Mary Sprague Hill; sons-in-law, Frank Holt and Michael Hill; and granddaughter, Rachel Hill, all of Raleigh and Cary, NC; her six nieces of whom she was very fond, Mrs. Milton (Bonnie) Peters, Mrs. James (Karen) Estep, Ms. Janice Gerber, Ms. Marguerite Stiles, Mrs. Joseph (Lynda) Carpenter, and Mrs. Richard (Denice) Thompson, and many great and great-great nieces and nephews; her sister-in-law, Mrs. William (Ruth) Hussey; her large extended family included members of the Hill and Holt families. Katherine attended Saint Vincent de Paul Catholic grade school, and Northside High School in Corning, and was a 1942 graduate of Saint Joseph’s School of Nursing in Elmira, NY. She worked for many years as an RN in New York before devoting her career to raising her children. She was an active member of Saint Vincent de Paul Church. Throughout her life she enjoyed and performed music, especially singing in many choral groups including the Corning Philharmonic and in solo performances. She also played piano and took part in numerous theatre productions. She was a voracious reader and loved her family, friends and good conversations. She had many quotes among her repertoire but her favorite was Shakespeare’s “This above all, to thine own self be true.” She moved from New York to North Carolina in 1995 to be near her daughters. The last four years of her life she lived at Sunnybrook Healthcare where she made many special friends among the staff. We are thankful she left a good portion of her heart with us. Funeral will be in Corning, NY, but a memorial service to be celebrated with her family and friends in Raleigh, NC will be planned for late summer. Funeral arrangements by Haughey Funeral Home, 216 E. First Street, Corning, NY 14830, 607-936-9322 Gifts may be made to the Sisters of Mercy, 1437 Blossom Road, Rochester, NY 14610