Katheryn Elizabeth "Kat" Bilbo

Memorial Services 2pm Saturday, January 11th at
Rose Hill Acres in Maryville 105 South Main Street
Katheryn "Kat" Elizabeth Bilbo, 51, of Maryville, Missouri passed away Saturday, December
21, 2024, in her home.
Katheryn was born on August 22, 1973, in Longview, Texas to parents Gerald (Carrie) Phillips,
of Houston, Texas and Linda Tarrant, of Maryville, Missouri. She has been married to Jack Bilbo
III for 20 years. Together they have two children, Zoe Emmaline Bilbo, 15, and Bennett Evan
Bilbo, 13. After high school, she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre at Stephen F. Austin
University in Nacogdoches, Texas. She went on to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre at
the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Prior to becoming an educator, Katheryn worked as a professional actress in the Chicago,
Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin areas. She was also a member of the Actor's Equity
Association. For the past 10 years Katheryn has worked as a Professor of Theatre at Northwest Missouri
State University. In addition to her work in the classroom, she served as the department's
Artistic Director, directed annual plays/musicals, and took on various other roles for the
organization. Her heart has always been in the theatre, and she had a fierce passion to lead the next
generation of artists. She spent her life entertaining others, spreading laughter, and bringing
stories to life on stage. Katheryn is preceded in death by her Gran, Ruth Evelyn Crockett and grandfather Horace "Van"
Vanderpool Crockett, Jr., and her stepmother, Donna Phillips. She is survived in death by her
father, Gerald Phillips and wife Carrie Phillips; mother, Linda Tarrant; husband, Jack Bilbo III;
children, Zoe and Ben Bilbo, Taylor Holley; mother-in-law, Shirley Bilbo; sisters, Christine Turner
and husband David Turner, Pauline Burke and husband David Burke; brother, Kevin Phillips and
wife Denise Phillips; sister-in-law, Staci Bilbo and husband John Mahoney; as well as her nieces
and nephews.
Tributes in Katheryn's Honor may be made to the New Nodaway Humane Society.