Katherine Kelley

Katherine Kati Kelley, of Bloomfield, passed away on Saturday December 29, 2007 at her home with her family by her side after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She was born in Canadaiqua, NY, the daughter of the late James and Mary Gartland. Kati leaves many friends and loved ones to cherish her spirit and her memory. She is survived by her son Brian Kelley of Jericho, VT, and her beloved grandson Jack Kelley. She graduated cum laude from Stonehill College with a BS in Biology in 1961, and took graduate classes at both Brandeis University and the University of Vermont College of Medicine. She worked as a microbiologist at the Vermont Public Health Lab in Burlington for ten years before returning to graduate school. She received her Masters of Public Health and Doctoral of Public health from the University of North Carolina, School of Public Health. She returned to her beloved State of Vermont where she was supervisor of the Vermont Water Resources Lab, and then Director of the Vermont Public Health Laboratories. In 1988, Kati went on her Great Adventure when she became Chief of Sections of Laboratories for the State of Alaska. In this position she was responsible for state labs in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau, and also spent one year as Director of Public Health. She enjoyed traveling the Pacific Northwest and loved to have family and friends visit her in Alaska so she could show them the culture and natural beauty of the state. She returned to the East Coast to be the Chief of the Laboratory Practice Training Branch at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA and then took the position of Laboratory Director for the State of Connecticut. Kati loved the arts and spent many of her weekends traveling to the New York Metropolitan Opera or to live performances through out New England. She published many articles in scientific journals and received many awards. Most recently she was honored with the prestigious Charles Edward Amory Winslow Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest professional achievement award bestowed to a public health professional in Connecticut, and was presented to her by Governor Jodi Rell. Kati dedicated her life to public health, and will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Funeral services will be held on Saturday Jan. 5th at 11:00 am at Sacred Heart Parish Church, 26 Wintonbury Ave. Bloomfield. There will be an entombment ceremony in Vermont at a later date. There are no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, a gift to one of Kati s charities would be appreciated. The Gray Cancer Center of Hartford Hospital where she received treatment, attn: Fund Development 80 Seymour St. Hartford, CT 06102-5037 or the Jericho/Underhill Land Trust, which works to protect the beauty of the Vermont landscape which Kati loved at P.O. Box 80 Jericho, VT 05465-0080.

Katherine Kelley

March 3, 1940 - December 29, 2007