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Kathleen Disbennett Obituary

Kathleen "Kathie/Kate" Helen Disbennett (née Buchanan), suffered a stroke in the home of her daughter and died in Muskegon, Michigan, on December 28, 2022.

This fall she celebrated her 80th birthday with family and friends. Kathie was born on September 30, 1942, in Detroit, Michigan where she graduated from Denby High School. As an adult, she received her associate's degree from Macomb Community College.

Kathie is survived by her three children, Scott Beil, Lisa Wisman (John Winfrey), and Michael (David) Chmura; three granddaughters, Kali (Brian) Bishop, Ana Beil, and Elizabeth (Aaron) Wisman; three great-grandsons, Hunter, Harvest, and Henry Bishop; beloved niece Mary (Tom) Pecorilla, and nephew Dan (Laura) DelBarba, as well as brother, Alex Buchanan, and other family and friends.

Kathie was preceded in death by her parents, Malcolm and Mary Buchanan, brother, John Buchanan, sister, Marian "Flo" Wyber, and brother-in-law, William "Willy" Wyber.

Kathie worked tirelessly to provide for her children and instilled her work ethic, love of animals, travel, and reading in them. Kathie loved the exposure to other cultures and experiences that reading provided and was rarely seen without a book; she was a member of several book clubs. Spending time with her granddaughters and great-grandsons was a treasured pastime and she cherished the time with her granddaughter Ana on Ana's visits to Michigan.

Kathie enjoyed traveling with her family and fellow Red Hatters to experience different places, cultures, and foods. Some of her travels took her to Scotland, England, and Italy numerous times, as well as Egypt, Spain, France, Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. While living in the metro-Detroit area, Kathie enjoyed visiting museums, restaurants, and architectural/historical tours of Detroit with her beloved niece, Mary.

Kathie was an unapologetic feminist and a pragmatic liberal who was not afraid to share her opinions. She made those around her laugh, and she made those around her think! She will be dearly missed.

Please consider a donation to one of these causes in her memory to the American Heart Association http://www.americanheart.org.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Grand Haven Tribune on Feb. 10, 2023.

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