Kathleen Elizabeth Witte

Kathleen Elizabeth Witte (“Kathy”) of Easton, MD, died Friday evening, January 4, 2019, peacefully at her home. Kathy was the first born daughter of the late Roy Drake Witte, Sr., and Agnes Morrison Witte. Born in Roanoke, VA, on November 12, 1948, she was raised in Hagerstown, MD, in the family home on Fountainhead Road. She was the oldest of six siblings. She graduated from North Hagerstown High School, received her BA at Virginia Tech and her JD at the University Of Baltimore School Of Law. Kathy’s family was remarkably close. Way too early in life, her fantastic parents Roy and Aggie passed away at the ages of 52 and 55 within three weeks of each other, leaving Kathy at the helm. It was a very busy ship that she sailed with four sisters, a brother, a nephew, myriad cousins, and close family friends. Kathy started the family tradition of the Orphans’ Thanksgiving, all were welcome at her table – nobody was ever turned away. She made sure that everyone was welcome in her house, a tradition that extended well past the holiday and became a way of life in her everyday philosophy. Among holding together this fabulous family, she had numerous accomplishments and projects. Her resume included being Project Manager for Union Station, Georgetown Park, Chevy Chase Pavilion, Easton Market Square, and Hospitality Director for 1984 Summer Olympics. Deciding to pursue her many passions, she opened up the Chesapeake Antique Center in Queenstown, MD, with her beloved, devoted husband and partner Stephen Leocha and her cousin Winfield Miller. Together Kathy & Stephen also started, along with her sister, Annie Witte Raymond, Chesapeake Chicken and Rockin’ Ribs Restaurants. Restaurants and Antiques were a family affair that also included nephew, Roy Drake Witte, III, and almost every family member at some point had to don the “Chicken Suit.” She was the Mother Hen, and she took great care of all. Nobody ever worked for Kathy, they just became another chair at her table – she loved everyone equally. In Easton, she was owner of The Witte Collection and a frequent and devoted supporter to many different charitable causes including Eventful Giving, Talbot Hospice, Talbot Humane, and the Chesapeake Film Festival. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2002 but refused to let it beat her. She fought her illness with dignity, grace, and a fantastic sense of style. She was rarely seen, even on her darkest days, without a fresh coat lipstick. Her charm and humor bewitched us all – so much so that we often forgot the illness that raged inside her. She is survived by her beloved husband, Stephen Leocha; siblings, Roy Drake Witte, Jr,. and his wife Patricia Witte, Martha Witte Suss and her husband Fred Suss, Rosamond Witte Baldwin and her husband Jamie Baldwin, Annie Witte Raymond, and Mary Kennedy Witte; her cousin, Winfield Miller and his wife Sandie Miller; her uncle, Hamilton Morrison Sr.; nieces and nephews, Roy Drake Witte, III, Ray Mitchell Witte, Quintus Peter Suss, Leah Grace Witte, Emily Lama, Trent Kennedy Witte, Olivia McGuire Suss, Mollie Agnes Raymond, Hanna Smith, May Witte Baldwin, and Ryan Miller. A Memorial Service will be held at 1 p.m. on Friday, January 11, 2019, at Christ Church Episcopal, 111 S. Harrison Street, in Easton. Donations may be made “In Memory of Kathleen Elizabeth Witte” to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Attn: Elliott Pollock, 885 Second Avenue, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10017. Or online at http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/Kathleen_Elizabeth_Witte Kathleen was also a terrific lover of animals and local donations can be made in her honor to The Talbot Humane Society (www.talbothumane.org), PO Box 1143, Easton, MD 21601.

Kathleen Elizabeth Witte

November 12, 1948 - January 4, 2019