Katherine Ogden Sellars

1927 - 2020

Katherine Ogden SELLARS

Katherine Ogden Sellars, born in Macon, Georgia on March 12, 1927, passed away peacefully in Seattle on August 2, 2020. Kathy is survived by her children: Michele Anciaux Aoki (Paul Aoki) from her marriage to Baldwin Anciaux; and Martin Sellars (Carolyn Sellars) and Kari Sellars from her marriage to Bill Sellars. Michele and Kari live in Seattle, and Martin and his family live in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Kathy had 6 grandchildren: James (Ante) Hoath, Natalya Cooper (Patrick Cooper), Jay Hanley, Kristen Hanley, Tayton Sellars, and Gianni Sellars. Kathy's husband Bill passed away in 2013 and Baldwin in 1994.

Kathy lived a long, wonderful life, full of activities such as beach hiking, skiing, and international folk dancing, including many years performing with Bill as part of the Nordiska Folkdancers. When Kari was born with Down Syndrome in 1968, Kathy did not return to her job at Boeing where she had worked for many years as a librarian. Instead, she turned her attention to ensuring that her daughter would have every possible opportunity in life. The family moved to Rome for three years (1969-1972), and when they returned, Kari was able to enter the first class of young children with developmental disabilities at the University of Washington Experimental Education Unit. Kari thrived there and has continued to thrive throughout her life. From 1977-1979, the family moved to Greece for Bill's work with the Austin Company. They loved to travel and enjoyed visiting many countries throughout Europe.

Always a pioneer, Kathy could visualize possibilities long before they came into existence. She volunteered as PTA President at Nathan Hale High School, which allowed her to model supporting her daughter with a disability by supporting all students to be successful. After Kari graduated from high school, Kathy and Bill bought a large house in Maple Leaf that would become the future home for Kari (Karistad) and other individuals with disabilities. In the 1990's, she founded a non-profit, Housing Unlimited, to procure homes where people with disabilities could live since they could not own property themselves. In 2000, she helped found LifeSPAN, Lifetime Secure Personal Assistance Network, a non-profit committed to supporting families in developing a safe, secure and quality future for their relatives with disabilities through the establishment of personal support networks. Not surprisingly, Kari's was the first LifeSPAN network and it remains vibrant to this day. To raise funds to establish LifeSPAN, Kathy and Bill donated Karistad to Parkview Services, which continues to operate it as a shared living home for five adults with disabilities. In 2001, Kathy and Bill moved to Jackson Place Cohousing, which they helped plan and build and where Kathy lived until July 2019 when she moved into Aegis at Ravenna, back in the Maple Leaf neighborhood.

Many family members and friends will remember Kathy for her warm smile, incisive wit, reflexive generosity and hospitality, and great analytical ability. But perhaps most telling are the words of one of the young men who assisted her at Aegis at Ravenna on the final days of her life, "Kathy was a splendid woman, & I learned a lot from her."

The COVID-19 pandemic does not permit gathering with family and friends to celebrate Kathy's marvelous life in person at this time, but the family plans several virtual gatherings in the coming weeks. For information about those events, please contact michele@lifespan-wa.org. Remembrances may be made to LifeSPAN (www.lifespan-wa.org).