Katherine M. Brooks

July 9, 2013pe Date of Death Here PORTLAND – Katherine M. Brooks, 69, or Kappy to her closest friends and loved ones, was a fun-loving, kind-hearted, compassionate, trustworthy and intelligent woman, with an unsurpassed sense of empathy towards her fellow man. Katherine passed away on July 9, 2013, with her sister by her side. She was born in Phoenix, AZ, on July 7, 1944, the daughter of Wendell and Katherine (Howes) Brooks. Although Katherine was born in AZ, she lived in Massachusetts and Maine her entire life. As a child and teenager she traveled the orient with her family as her father worked for the U.S. State Department. During that time she enjoyed learning various languages, including Cantonese, Thai, and Korean, and also used that talent to teach English to native college students during her travels. As an adult she also worked for the State Department in Laos. Katherine had a passion for music, and she herself had a magnificent operatic voice. She was skilled with both the spoken and written word, and had a witty sense of humor. But her deep love and respect for all animals, great and small, was decidedly her most defining characteristic. Katherine is survived by her sister, Wendie A. Geiger, her nieces and nephew, Roberta B. Geiger-Berry, Katherine L. and David T. English, her grand-niece, Jaelynn L. Berry, her uncle and aunt, Hanns and Kip Gruemer, and cousins Ruth Presti, Annamarie Gruemer, Kelly Bookman and Chuck and Gina Mistark. Visitation will be held from 10:00-11:00 am, Friday, at Conroy-Tully Crawford Funeral Home, 172 State St., Portland. Services will be private. Burial will take place at the Rural Cemetery in Southborough, MA, at a later date.Online condolences may be expressed below.