Kathleen Patricia Knapp Anderson

Gansevoort, NY - Kathleen Patricia Knapp Anderson passed away shortly after noon on December 21 at the Glens Falls Center for Rehabilitation and Care facility, with her brother and only sibling David at her side. She had just turned 71 on November 26. When her brave battle against terminal throat cancer had left her unable to eat, drink or talk, she made the decision to discontinue chemotherapy and radiation at Saratoga Hospital and move into hospice care. A decision with which she was at peace as evidenced by an invariable smile as she faced each of her remaining days, whiteboard in hand to communicate with whomever was at her bedside.Above all things Kathy was a kind and compassionate soul, with strong concerns for animal rights and environmental issues. Like her parents she was an avid gardener and her bird feeder was always well stocked. She was a reliable friend and a dedicated family member, actively involved not only with her brother David Hayden Knapp of Fairfield, Connecticut and his wife Anita, but also with their three children, David Thomas Knapp of Cornelius, North Carolina, Kevin Michael Knapp of Honolulu, Hawaii and Erin Kathleen Knapp Hynes of Trumbull, Connecticut and their respective spouses, Erin Garvey, Steffi and Chris.Kathy and her sister-in-law Anita shared a strong interest in handicrafts such as crocheting and macramé. Kathy’s talent for free-hand macramé was most evident, not just in her home but the homes of her family and friends. Jigsaw puzzles were also a shared family passion.Kathy was predeceased by her parents Lohnas (Lon) Hayden Knapp, her mother Shirley Virginia Carlson Knapp, her mother’s two sisters, Beverley Gail Carlson Sack of Burnt Hill, New York and Pat Carlson James of Hendersonville North Carolina and their husbands Gordon Sack and Justin James, and by her father’s only brother, Robert (Bob) Knapp, who actively mentored Kathy in her auditing and finance career. Kathy also lost her teenage cousin Jeff Sack in 1976.Survivors include Gail and Gordie’s daughters Sandy Sack Donahue and Barbara Sack Hartzog and Pat and Jud’s children Holly James, Jay James and Lindsay James Dugan as well as her Uncle Bob’s four children, Bob Knapp, Ronne Knapp Thielen, Jeff Knapp and Larry Knapp.Kathy was also regularly involved in the lives of her five grandchildren, David Thomas’ three daughters, Hayden, Fiona and Zoe and Erin’s two sons C.J. and Asher.Kathy and her brother David’s childhood was dictated by their father’s various postings as a senior economist with General Electric that included Bridgeport, CT in the 1940s and early 1950s, where Kathy was born, Louisville KY for part of the 1950s and then Schenectady, NY for the 1950s, with the family living in Burnt Hills, where Kathy went to grade school. When the GE circuit led Lon to its New York headquarters in the early 1960s, the family settled in Westport, CT where Kathy attended middle school. A transfer to work for GE Tempo in Santa Barbara in the mid-1960s began her long relationship with California where she was part of the first graduating class of Goleta, CA’s Dos Pueblos HS and later attended Santa Barbara City College. Her father’s second posting to Louisville saw Kathy earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy, with honors, at the University of Louisville.While Kathy’s heart may be split between coasts, her roots are deeply Saratoga. She returned in the 2000s to take care of her ailing mother and stayed since then, earning an MBA on-line and receiving certification with New York State by passing auditing and tax preparation parts of the CPA exam.Kathy’s parents both graduated from Saratoga HS and her mother Shirley and paternal grandmother, Rita Hayden Knapp, were both Skidmore graduates. Kathy loved the track and often hosted her friend Barbara Borden and her family during the racing season. She also organized Triple Crown days (and the fourth jewel, the Traverse) as family events with odds, owners, riders and race records all considered, with participants of any age making $1 bets, not to mention annual Thanksgiving dinners at the Wishing Well and dinners at the Olde Bryan Inn with visitors.Kathy’s family and friends wish to thank the staff at Saratoga Hospital’s third floor and the personnel at the South wing of the Glen Falls Center for their kindness and understanding.A graveside service organized by Saratoga-based William J. Burke & Sons Funeral Home is planned at Greenridge Cemetery’s Hayden Circle site at 10:30 AM on Saturday, January 8 where an urn with her ashes will be buried between the graves of her parents, Lon Knapp and Shirley Knapp.Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com https://www.lastingmemories.com/kathleen-patricia-anderson