Kathryn Ann Gendel

1936 - 2021

Gendel, Kathryn Ann

Kathryn (Kathe) Ann Gendel died on November 7, 2021 in Denver, after suffering a cardiac event. Born Kathryn McAninch in 1936 in St. Louis Missouri, she was raised for many years of by her maternal grandparents, Marty and Andrew Dierks in Muscatine Iowa. She spent her teenage years with her parents, Odette and Wilmont McAninch in Kansas City Missouri. Kathryn's children are Kate An Hunter, Shelle Greenbaum, Karolyn Epling and Paulo Berbiglia. Her grandchildren are David Brown, Brandon Cline and Rose Greenbaum. Her great-grandchildren are Rylan, Delilah and Kahvin Cline. Her siblings are John Thomas McAninch and Mary Reynolds. Michael Gendel is Kathryn's husband.

Kathryn was an artist at heart. The medium closest to her nature was her garden, where she created and nurtured beauty, surprise, and peace. She was never happier than when she had exhausted herself after a day with her hands in the earth. Having attended the Art Institute of Kansas City, she was a published professional photographer, showed her weavings in museums and galleries across the country, threw pots, painted, created abstract collages out of the petals of the flowers she grew, and beaded in her later years. She had an unerring taste in art, fashion, and design, along with an astonishing visual memory. She was a creative and adventurous cook and travelled with world with gusto.

After moving to Denver in 1975 she obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Social Work degrees from Denver University. For 25 years she practiced psychotherapy at the Denver Mental Health Center and later in private practice. She retired in the early 2000's.

Kathryn was an independent woman. She had a strong will and feisty nature, matched by her generous spirit, love of life, and famous and often irreverent sense of humor. Kathryn's doctors gave her less than one percent chance of surviving an acute illness in 2009, but she defied those odds with her tenacious will to live and resolve to recover. Kathryn always had more plans. Burdened by medical problems in her last years, she accepted increasing disability with remarkable grace, her grey-blue eyes always full of light and laughter. She was a trusted and loyal friend to many. She cared deeply for her family and her husband's family. She is loved by all her family and friends and adored by her husband Michael.

Memorial contributions are welcome at her favored medical charity, ReSurge International (resurge.org) and one of her favorite arts organizations, Theater Grottesco in Santa Fe (theatergrottesco.org).