1945
Kathryn
2016
Kathryn "Kayte" Blanke
November 2, 1945 — February 2, 2016
Kayte Blanke of Albuquerque, New Mexico died Tuesday, February 2, 2016. Her unexpected death has left family members and friends alike stunned and grief stricken. Kayte was born Kathryn Blanke on November 2, 1945 in Watertown, South Dakota to Elisabeth Underwood and Robert Mayer Blanke. Throughout her young life, she lived in New York, South Dakota and South Carolina, where she spent the majority of her childhood. Although she would move to Maryland as an adult and eventually to New Mexico, part of Kayte remained essentially southern. She loved fried chicken livers, turkey necks with gravy, saying hello to people in the grocery store line, humid southern nights, and sand in her shoes.
Kayte graduated from Eau Claire High School in Columbia, South Carolina and from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She was a skilled and gifted physician assistant. Throughout her professional career, she worked to give comfort to people in distress and to be a staunch patient advocate. This took her to the Veteran's Administration hospitals in Albuquerque and Columbia, to the reservation in Ramah, New Mexico, and to the University of New Mexico School of Medicine Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program. She was also fiercely protective of animals and a true nature lover.
After her retirement and after giving herself time to enjoy a more idle lifestyle, she volunteered with Special Olympics of New Mexico helping horseback riders, basketball players and hockey players and really loving those she worked with. She also had the chance to be a grandmother to Wesley and Brandon Anderson, spending many hours cuddling her babies and reveling in the joy that they brought her.
Most peoples' lives can be summed up through their professional accomplishments or through the nuclear and extended families that they have left to grieve their passing. That isn't so easy with Kayte. Over the course of her life, she made close friends who became part of her family. She was discerning on who she would let into her circle but, once there, they were there for life. Upon finding out about her death, condolences poured in from all across the country and from as far away as Papua, New Guinea.
Kayte was a compassionate, fierce, and independent woman with a cowboy spirit and a soft spot for animals and children. Many of the people who knew her describe her as a matter-of-fact, no nonsense person. They appreciated her candor and the way she tried to live her life without reservation and without making excuses. All knew that her capacity for love and caring was boundless. Her humor and capacity for laughter will also be missed. She was, as her brother-in-law described her, "the Queen of one liners." As unusual as it seems, she was one of the few people who would find a way to laugh through this difficult time. All of those who loved her can honor her memory with laughter as well as tears.
Left behind to mourn her loss are her long-time partner, Debbie Weissman, of Albuquerque; her sister, Rebecca Childress (Sugar) and her husband, Blake, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; her beloved dogs, George and Hedley, and her cat, Tommy; friends too numerous to count but whom she loved with all of her heart; and a loving extended family to include cousins, in-laws, first cousins once removed, second cousins and others whose categorization we've never been able to figure out.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Kayte's memory may be made to the Southern Poverty Law Center, New Mexico Special Olympics, or Walkin' N Circles horse rescue.
Plans for a memorial are pending.
Kayte graduated from Eau Claire High School in Columbia, South Carolina and from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She was a skilled and gifted physician assistant. Throughout her professional career, she worked to give comfort to people in distress and to be a staunch patient advocate. This took her to the Veteran's Administration hospitals in Albuquerque and Columbia, to the reservation in Ramah, New Mexico, and to the University of New Mexico School of Medicine Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program. She was also fiercely protective of animals and a true nature lover.
After her retirement and after giving herself time to enjoy a more idle lifestyle, she volunteered with Special Olympics of New Mexico helping horseback riders, basketball players and hockey players and really loving those she worked with. She also had the chance to be a grandmother to Wesley and Brandon Anderson, spending many hours cuddling her babies and reveling in the joy that they brought her.
Most peoples' lives can be summed up through their professional accomplishments or through the nuclear and extended families that they have left to grieve their passing. That isn't so easy with Kayte. Over the course of her life, she made close friends who became part of her family. She was discerning on who she would let into her circle but, once there, they were there for life. Upon finding out about her death, condolences poured in from all across the country and from as far away as Papua, New Guinea.
Kayte was a compassionate, fierce, and independent woman with a cowboy spirit and a soft spot for animals and children. Many of the people who knew her describe her as a matter-of-fact, no nonsense person. They appreciated her candor and the way she tried to live her life without reservation and without making excuses. All knew that her capacity for love and caring was boundless. Her humor and capacity for laughter will also be missed. She was, as her brother-in-law described her, "the Queen of one liners." As unusual as it seems, she was one of the few people who would find a way to laugh through this difficult time. All of those who loved her can honor her memory with laughter as well as tears.
Left behind to mourn her loss are her long-time partner, Debbie Weissman, of Albuquerque; her sister, Rebecca Childress (Sugar) and her husband, Blake, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland; her beloved dogs, George and Hedley, and her cat, Tommy; friends too numerous to count but whom she loved with all of her heart; and a loving extended family to include cousins, in-laws, first cousins once removed, second cousins and others whose categorization we've never been able to figure out.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Kayte's memory may be made to the Southern Poverty Law Center, New Mexico Special Olympics, or Walkin' N Circles horse rescue.
Plans for a memorial are pending.
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