Karen Timpson Alvarez
On Saturday, October 16, 2021, Karen Timpson Alvarez died after complications from surgery.
Known to all as Kitty, she is survived by her children, Amy and Dan Armstrong, Lisa and Wright Brooks, Carrie and Bryan Briscoe, her grandchildren Connor, Blake, Jackson, Henry, Louise and Kaylie. Brother Timmy, sisters Lissy, Julia and Kathy, her Aunt Fran, nieces, nephews, many cousins and her dog Pippi.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lewis and Ingrid Timpson.
Kitty leaves behind many friends she collected and loved throughout her life, including ones from high school, college, her 25 years of being a military spouse and various kindred spirits found during her career and retirement. And if Kitty was your friend, she loved your children too. If you were lucky enough to know Kitty, you knew that she was always up for an adventure, a baseball game, a musical, a book club or a dinner out.
Kitty was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on May 18, 1948, and spent her childhood in New Jersey including summers down at her beloved Jersey Shore. She graduated from Bridgewater-Raritan West High School in 1966, received her Bachelor’s Degree from Randolph Macon Women’s College in 1970 and her Master’s Degree in Education from Boston University in 1985. She spent her career helping the overlooked and underserved including victims of domestic violence, military families, people living with mental illness, homeless families and foster children. She was a devoted member of Christ Episcopal Church in Kennesaw where after her retirement she was able to continue serving her community through Family Promise, Path to Shine and numerous other outreach projects.
Kitty loved working in her yard, listening to books on tape and finding tchotchkes at a craft fair. She thrived in clutter and procrastination. Above all, Kitty will be remembered for her loyal, gracious heart, her funny, outgoing personality, her inability to filter, her outrageous expressions and her special way of adding silliness to every situation, even if inappropriately. Kitty never passed up a chance to help those in need, talk about politics, or hold your baby. Most of all Kitty loved being with her family, sharing a meal with a glass of wine and laughing. Kitty was one of a kind and will be terribly missed.
A memorial will be held for Kitty at Christ Episcopal Church in Kennesaw on October 24, 2021, at 3:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Kitty’s name to Family Promise of Cobb County. www.familypromisecobbcounty.org
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Kitty was a high school classmate.She was only two weeks younger than I am. We worked together on the class prophecy. She was supposed to be the chair person but she decided to let me have that honor. She was always a good friend and I did not have many friends back then. I was lucky enough to have lunch with her when she came to New Jersey to visit her sister. We were so busy catching up that we barely had time to eat. We had not seen each other since high school
Dear Melissa and Julia and Family,
We are so very sorry for your loss.
To the family of Ms. Kitty I am very sorry for your loss. I can tell the impact she has on this world through her daughter Amy Armstrong. Amy you are a kind and loving person and I know you had to get that from you upbringing. I am praying for you all during this time and may all you need be supplied in the days to come when life continues for everyone and you are still feeling the effects of the void left where your mothers presence once lived. May your days be filled with the memory of who your mother was, the lessons she taught you and the love she gave you.
Light, love, and laughter are what come to mind when I think of Kitty. May she Rest In Peace. And May God bless her family and friends as they mourn her loss.
May Kitty rest In peace and comfort. Her caring and generous spirit will live on in her beautiful family.
Kitty was as special as any person could be. We have a group of friends who have been getting together at Patty Culpepper’s house at least once a year and sometimes twice – any time Kitty was driving north to see her family. She was always the funny one who made us laugh and she will always be in our hearts. There is no doubt that she is now in Heaven making the angels laugh. As much as we are grieving, we do want to send love and understanding to her three daughters and all of her grandchildren, as well as to all the friends she must have had in the Atlanta area.
Kitty leaves a tremendous hole in many people’s hearts, but we know she is now in Heaven.
Missing you…. My forever sweet friend! 🙏🏻💔
Kitty will be sorely missed by her family and by the large circle of friends I am quite sure she has made since moving to Atlanta. She was one in a million.
Kitty will be missed by many people.
May God comfort this family during this time.
Kitty was a beloved member of Christ Episcopal Church Women’s Bible Study group. We met today and shared some of our favorite “Kitty” stories. We love her and we miss her.
MaryCharles MdDonald
Kitty will be missed by her old friends of 50 years ago when we graduated from college or actually 54 years as we arrived at Randolph Macon in 1966.
I met Kitty our freshman year in college and have kept in touch over fifty years. She never failed to make us all laugh and give us the New Jersey point of view! She was smart, quick to smile, and knew how to start a charcoal fire without setting the whole house aflame. We will miss her but will keep her memory alive with stories of adventures at school and gatherings over the years since. She was so proud of her “girls” and her grandchildren. We will miss her dearly.
You will be missed so much!
Kitty and I got to know each other best during our senior year in high school when we spent all of our study halls together working in the yearbook office with the two teacher advisors. I’ll always remember how she constantly cracked up those young teachers with her deadpan, ironic humor that was accompanied by a twinkle in her eyes – something quite new to me. She taught me the important lesson that, with the right outlook, you can make the most boring or arduous task fun.
Condolences to the family.
Prayers of peace and comfort to Tim, Kathy, and Kitty’s children as you mourn your loss and celebrate her beautiful life.
Our prayers are with you Lisa. CD groups sends prayers as well.
Kitty’s passing leaves a noticeable gap in Christ Church’s smile. That it has hit us this hard is a tribute to how much service she took upon herself to help others. She is already being terribly missed.
I met Kitty in college and I am happy to have known her. I think of her with a smile because she was was such a happy person. I am so sorry I lost touch with college friends when I left before graduation. I deeply regret that. My condolences to her family. I am pleased she had such a large family because that is the most important thing of all.
When we started attending CEC three years ago, Kitty immediately became my friend. She was in programs that I wanted to join, she quickly made that possible.
Kitty was joy, light, enthusiasm, kindness, friendly, giving, and had wonderful spunk. I will miss her every day.
May knowing that she had so many friends who are grieving her loss, help your loss.
Melissa and Julia
Words cannot express our sadness in the loss of your sister Kit. Her beautifully written obituary describes a lovely person Sending you hugs and much love
Barbara and Mike
Kitty was the best. She was the glue that connected five college chums together, as we all joined in mini-reunions when she stopped in Virginia on her annual trips north to New Jersey. Her humor, readiness to discuss politics and general take on the world sparked great discussions. Her passing hurts but her memory will stay with us.
I am so sorry for your loss. Prayers for your family.
Kitty was a wonderful person. Prayers for her family during this time, my heart breaks fir all of you. Sending thoughts snd prayers your way during this difficult time.
Grade school friends are the best. We met in sixth grade. I’d like to think we chose each other, but everyone chose Kitty so maybe it was just that she chose me. There was a group of us. We shared the rest of our school days, the trauma of boyfriends, grades, and who we really were or would be and then led our lives in separate states of the country and mind . It was great fun to reconnect several years ago. I’m not surprised to read about all the other reunions and ongoing connections that Kitty has maintained. But surprised to see how much we were still what we had been then. She, funny, irreverent, and independent minded. Good friends like Kitty are best the second time around.
Kitty,
we will miss you, your kindness and sweetness to everyone you met. I will never forget our times at the “Y”. soar like the angel you are.
Always
Tranita Duncan Brown & family
Dear Melissa and Julia,
We are saddened by the loss of your sister, Kitty, and will keep you and your family in our prayers. May your memories of her keep her spirit alive forever.
With much sympathy,
Vicki and Jeff Bartolino
Rip kitty I graduated with kitty at brhs she was a super classmate