Obituary of Kathie Laurette Young

Kathie Laurette Whitt Young August 11th, 1942 - July 20th, 2022
 
Kathie Laurette Whitt Young of Chapel Hill, NC, passed away peacefully at UNC Hospital surrounded by friends and family after suffering a stroke. She was preceded in death by her father, Herbert Allen Whitt, her mother, Mary Kathleen Duncan Whitt, and her sons Fredrick Nelson Young III and David Edward Allen Young.
 
Kathie was born and bred Chapel Hill, her family dating back many generations; her father built a log cabin just north of downtown in the 1930’s on farmland the town eventually grew around.
 
Kathie raised her two beloved sons from her first marriage alone and then married Roy Roth, celebrating 31 years of marriage on May 26.
 
The first part of her career was in bookkeeping for the Town of Chapel Hill, and upon retiring, Kathie then worked as Legislative Assistant to NC Senator Ellie Kinnaird at the NC General Assembly for another 17 years.
 
Most would find this a satisfying and complete life, but in Kathie style, she kept on giving, becoming involved in the NC Writers’ Network, touching the lives of many aspiring authors who all remember her fondly. She was a board member of the Orange County Historical Museum, and was a stage manager, publicist, and more for the Prime-Time Players in multiple productions, the most recently Just for Laughs.
 
She had a love of travel, travelling with Roy to countless countries, making new friends at every stop. Her other love was exercise, sometimes exercising up to two hours each day, and she especially loved her Zumba friends in her life.
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Friends described her as having a zest for life, a love of family and friends, an infectious positive outlook on life. She had a selfless capacity for giving and caring. ALL unanimously will remember her for her baking talents.
 
Her strongest passion was for her two sons and her chosen family from Mexico and Honduras, Angel and Angela Espinosa and their twins, Andrea and Adrian. Kathie was their adoring and devoted ‘American grandmother.’ In Kathie’s words, she ‘met them in the womb, and they mean the world to me.’ For the last 11 years, she actively participated in their lives, handmaking them costumes for special occasions and celebrating all their milestones. Her wish was to see them through a wonderful and successful life. They, of course, will always remember her pumpkin pie…
 
She ‘dazzled the world’ across borders, generations, races and genders, and brought an abundance of joy and love to so many. She will be dearly missed.
 
She is survived by her husband Roy William Roth and his children and grandchildren, her brother Allen Whitt, her nephew Libre Brousseau, and her adopted family, Angela and Angel Espinosa and their children, Andrea and Adrian.
 
A memorial will be held for Kathie and her two sons at the NC Botanical Garden in the Reeves Auditorium on August 20 from 4:30pm to 6:30pm.

Walker's Funeral Home of Mebane is assisiting the Young family