KATHARINE CRENSHAW BRIEGER

BRIEGER, Katharine Crenshaw Of Lincoln, Massachusetts and Hancock Point, Maine, formerly of Baltimore, Maryland, passed away peacefully on August 8, 2025, three days after her 93rd birthday. She was born on August 5, 1932, to R. Adm. John S. Crenshaw and Elisabeth Cluverius Crenshaw. She was predeceased by her husband of 66 years, Gert Henry Brieger; and her twin sister, Elisabeth Crenshaw; and sister, Nancy Sampson Smith. She is survived by her three children, Heidi E. Brieger, William N. Brieger and Benjamin C. Brieger; as well as five grandchildren, Katharine Brieger, Dana Mackey, John William Brieger, Elisabeth Dings and Leah Rude; as well as seven great-grandchildren, with twin great-granddaughters expected later this year. She is also survived by her first cousin, Margaret Parsons Bowditch. Kathy graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where she met Gert when a sorority sister arranged their first date. In 1955, Kathy and Gert were married at the Alameda Naval Air Station, where Kathy was stationed with the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Kathy was a Lieutenant JG, proudly serving as a commissioned Naval Officer descended from three Admirals, including Admiral William T. Sampson, Superintendent of the United States Naval Academy, and in whose Hancock Point house her family still makes their summer home. Perhaps because Kathy was a self-described "Navy brat" who moved every single year of her childhood, Kathy's interests were many and varied: after college she received a certificate in social work from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She painted and sold her art for decades. Kathy was a gifted and accomplished athlete. In the 1970s and 1980s, before it was common for women to compete in distance running events, Kathy completed innumerable marathons, ultramarathons and triathlons. Her accomplishments include four Boston Marathons, three New York City Marathons, four Western States 100 Endurance Runs, and many triathlons. For many decades she held the record for women over 50 in Honolulu's Iron Man Triathlon. Kathy cared deeply about fairness and justice, and took her husband and children to many anti-war protests and pickets against segregated theaters and lunch counters. She was an avid hiker and naturalist, and a supporter of dozens of environmental organizations. Kathy was a kind and unfailingly polite person whose true interest in others made her a remarkable friend and beloved family member. A Memorial Service will be planned for a future date. Kathy's family would like to recognize and thank the outstanding and compassionate nursing staff at the Commons in Lincoln, where Kathy (and Gert) made many true friends. For her online guestbook, please visit www.DeeFuneralHome.com