Katie Marissa Stence

Katie (Kate) Stence, 46 years young, passed away on March 26th, 2026. Katie is a treasured and beloved daughter, sister, friend and aunt and will live on in our hearts forever.

Katie was born on April 8th, 1979, in York PA to Pamela and David Stence. She is survived by her siblings: Keri Gaffney, husband Kevin and their children; Kristy Bodnar, husband Ron and their children; Brian Stence and his children; Hallie Porter, her husband Shane and their children; and many cousins, aunts, uncles and beloved friends.

While Katie was born and raised in York, her heart yearned for greater things, and she quickly set her sights on New York City. She graduated from Central York High School in 1997 and worked tirelessly to make her dreams of living in NYC come true. After beginning her college education at York College, she transferred to Fordham University, Lincoln Center campus in 1999, where she completed her BA in English Literature. Katie's love of writing, reading, poetry, humanity and philanthropy would set her on an exceptional and exciting journey while in pursuit of education.

Katie continued to develop her passion for writing, poetry, and literature through studies at New York University, Columbia University and the Barnard Center for Research on Women. After moving to San Francisco, she attended Mills College and the University of California, Berkeley campus. Her endless passion for travel and learning led her to Paris, France where she studied and earned a French Language Diploma from the Sorbonne Universite in Paris - a city she would eventually find her way back to in a few years time. While living and working in Paris she earned her Master's Degree in Public Policy and International Law from the American University of Paris and a Certificate in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford, England. During this time Katie continued to travel the world with her adventures taking her through Great Britain, Europe, Africa, Australia and coast to coast across the U.S.

Katie was passionate about the pursuit of equality and justice for women and children. She dedicated her career to supporting and working for mission driven organizations including the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), US Agency for International Development (USAID), Women's World Banking and as the Senior Special Assistant to the Ambassador and Japanese Delegation to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). She was an advocate and coach volunteer for Girls on the Run International, editor and contributing columnist for the International Museum of Women (now the Global Fund for Women) and contributor to the Women's Media Center. She was an avid runner, completing two ultramarathons, five marathons and five half marathons around the globe. Katie combined her love of running with her passion for philanthropy by running on behalf of the Girls on the Run and Women for Women International charity teams.

There was so much more Katie wanted to contribute to the world.
"Life is what you celebrate. All of it. Even its end." ~ Joanne Harris

We invite friends and family to join us for a celebration of Katie's life on Saturday, April 18th, 2026, from 1pm-4pm at The Hangar 17 E Philadelphia St. York, PA 17401. https://hangaryork.com/venue

In lieu of flowers we ask you to continue support of Katie's lifelong work with a gift of remembrance in her name to Girls on the Run (https://www.girlsontherun.org/) or Women for Women International (https://www.womenforwomen.org/)