Kathleen G. Streeter

1932 - 2019

Kathleen G. Streeter

March 12, 1932 ~ October 1, 2019

She was in her mid-60s when Kathleen Streeter settled on a pursuit in keeping with the independent spirit that defined her: She would return to college, full time, to study her lifelong love of painting, illustration and design. Most of the students at Seattle's Cornish College of the Arts were four decades her junior. As always, she was not deterred. In typical fashion she quickly befriended her much younger classmates, becoming a trusted confidant and wise advisor, all the while thriving as a student. In 1999, at an age when most are retiring, she graduated on the honor roll from Cornish with a bachelor's degree of fine arts.

Kathleen, who went on to become a freelance portrait artist, passed away in Seattle on October 1, 2019, following a courageous two-year battle with cancer. She was 87.

The decision to follow her passion and return to art college at an age when most are retiring was typical of how she approached every aspect of life. Ever steadfast and creative, she worked to sharpen her expressive gifts until her final days.

Kathleen Gould Streeter was born in Salem, Oregon on March 12, 1932. Her mother, Doris Burgess, was a teacher. Her father, James Burgess, was the superintendent of schools in several towns across the state, including Astoria. She graduated from Astoria High in 1950 and then attended the University of Oregon. There she began dating Mel Streeter, an architecture student who was one of the first black players on the Ducks' men's basketball team and among roughly a dozen African Americans on campus.

Remarkably, the couple married in 1954, the same year that the Supreme Court's verdict in Brown vs. Board of Education banned segregated schools and became a legal cornerstone in the battle for civil rights. Oregon's law prohibiting biracial matrimony had only recently been overturned, making Mel and Kathleen's one of the first interracial marriages in the state.

In 1955, the newlywed Streeters moved to Seattle, where Mel was stationed in the Army and where he eventually began a long, successful career as an architect. Together they faced virulent racism. They were repeatedly shooed away by renters as they looked for their first home, and they often faced scorn as they began raising a family that grew to include four sons.

A shared belief in the goodness of humanity kept them from becoming embittered. They attracted a large, diverse cast of friends from all over the Pacific Northwest. Parties at the Streeter household in the old family home in north Seattle --

infused with jazz, Motown, dancing and political debate --

were famed for their upbeat vibe and mix of generations and races.

The couple did not always have an easy relationship. They split for several years in the 1970s and drifted apart. Then they got back together, eventually re-marrying. Their bond endured until Mel's passing in 2006.

By that time Kathleen, who also went by Kathy, had not only left behind a career as an office administrator to return to college and hone her artistic skills, she'd started sharpening her talent as a pianist. She participated in public recitals well into her 80s, fluidly playing masterworks by Bach, and, to add flair to the mix, by the Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla and Spain's Federico Mompou.

Innate creativity and easy elegance were Kathleen's hallmarks, evident in her music and art, in the way she dressed, how she moved, and in her writing. Late in life she became an author, publishing a short novel written with her third son, Ken.

Such grace drew people in, creating a beloved community. It seemed she couldn't go anywhere without making a new friend. She maintained enduring ties with fellow travelers met on boat trips in Europe, on train rides in the Midwest, and on plane flights to visit California. She reveled in such connections.

For all of her accomplishments and pursuits, there was never any doubt about Kathleen Streeter's primary devotion and source of pride. Her sons - Doug, Jon, Ken and Kurt - meant everything to her. Together they will hold her dearly in their hearts forever, as will her five grandchildren.

Kathleen Streeter is survived by her sons and their offspring, by her sister, Deb Mohr, of Eugene, and by a wide collection of nieces, nephews and cousins.

A memorial will be held at

St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

in Seattle's Green Lake neighborhood, on Saturday, November 16, at 11:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations be made in memory of Kathleen Streeter to either of the following vital, community oriented arts nonprofits in Seattle: The Pratt Fine Arts Center, via www.pratt.org/donate; or The Gage Academy of Art, c/o Gina Cavallo, Major Gifts Officer, 1510 10th Ave E. Seattle, WA 98102.

Sign Kathleen's online

Guest Book at www.Legacy.com