Dr. Richard Norman Katon

1941 - 2023

Katon

Dr. Richard Norman Katon

July 4, 1941 - May 7, 2023

On Sunday morning May 7, 2023, Dr. Richard Norman Katon, beloved father, brother, husband, grandfather, friend and caretaker of many, passed away peacefully in his sleep after a year-long battle with cancer. Preceded in death by his beloved wife of 47 years, Gynny Profita Katon, they are now reunited. He will be missed terribly by his children Terry, Andy, Jordan and Juli; their respective spouses Kimberly, Michelle, and Lisa; and his nine grandchildren Alyssa (26), Sophie (25), Zoe (24), Jared (21), Sadie (21), Griffin (11), Phoenix (8), Colin (5) and Milo (2).



Richard's greatest passion in life was taking care of and providing for his family, friends and community. His gentle kindness and overwhelming generosity defined him throughout his lifetime. He was a father figure to many and his home was open over the years to family and friends who needed support.



Richard was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, along with his twin sisters, Judy and Marilyn, children of Charlotte and Benjamin Katon. Richard is also survived by his sisters, their respective husbands Paul and Allan, along with a sizable extended family of their kids, grandkids, cousins and beyond.



Throughout his teenage years, Richard worked hard and participated in public safety initiatives in and around the Avenue K community. After finishing high school, Richard took a brief hiatus from New York while attending Lafayette College in Easton, PA. Following his undergraduate studies, Richard returned back to Brooklyn to pursue his interest in medicine at Downstate Medical.



Richard's humanitarian legacy began in full after completing Medical School in 1967. First stop was obtaining a Masters in Public Health Administration at Johns Hopkins, after which he transitioned to Washington, DC to start off his career pioneering a groundbreaking new program to treat heroin addicts. After several years, this led Richard to start his own company that consulted with the Federal government on a variety of health and treatment issues. Despite his immediate success and growth of his company, Richard's desire to have a more direct impact on people's lives brought him back to the practice of traditional family medicine. In 1980, he started a medical practice in a small house on a farm in Germantown, Maryland, which, over the next four decades, grew across three locations, providing more than 50,000 patient visits per year. All the while, Richard sat on various medical boards, staying involved in advocacy and patient care initiatives.



After finally retiring from the medical field in 2010, Richard spent time enjoying the things he loved best: spending time and traveling with his late wife and best love reading and soaking in the sun. They enjoyed making memories in Bethany Beach, DE, on cruise ships, and exploring other cultural destinations around the world.



It wasn't long though before his itch for giving back to the community once again brought him to a new chapter in his life. The idea was cemented during a chance conversation on an airplane with a flight attendant who would soon become his friend and one of 3 co-founders of this new project. The idea: a way to give back to the families of military veterans who had been injured in the line of service. Each year, they would invite a new set of 30 veteran families to Bethany Beach, Delaware. Residents of Bethany Beach rolled out the red carpet; homes were donated for the week, business doors were opened, and families who desperately needed a reprieve from the physical and mental burdens of injury and caretaking enjoyed a week of relaxation, connection, support and appreciation. The impact was a ripple effect - wounded warriors and their families took the support they received during the week and brought messages of hope and support back to their communities; some volunteered to return and provide more support to the next group of families, and so on. Operation SEAs the Day (as it became known) is still going strong and will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary later this summer.



Richard spent his last couple of years living at the Woodlands 55+ Community in Urbana, MD where he made a name for himself by creating a newsletter called Hidden Gems focusing on local businesses in the community. He joined a book club, poker club, and bridge club, getting to know multitudes of neighbors along the way.



Richard brought a calm, guiding spirit into every aspect of his life. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, watching sports, playing cards and reading books. Richard also loved the thrill of competition: from early days of skipping class in medical school to go to the race track, waking up before sunrise to shuttle children to sports games, playing fantasy hockey and football, and being a diehard Capitals fan, to recent games of poker and bridge in the Woodlands community. Most of all, Richard adored his family and friends and rarely missed an opportunity to connect with new people and stay in touch with acquaintances from the past.



A celebration of Richard's life will be held on June 18 at Temple Beth Ami in Rockville, MD. We ask that you RSVP at https://pp.events/rnk. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Montgomery Hospice or Frederick Hospice.