Kathryn Harlin Massey, 100, of Fredericksburg

»Information from the Covenant Funeral Service website.

Kathryn Harlin Massey,100, died on Friday, June 5, 2015 at her home on Washington Avenue where she resided with her granddaughter, Melissa.

Born at the beginning of World War I, 50 years after the Civil War devastated her parents’ homes in Georgia and Harrisonburg; she was a member of America’s Greatest Generation. Graduating as valedictorian of her high school class at the beginning of the Great Depression, she then graduated from State Teacher’s College in Harrisonburg (now JMU). She began her professional life in Fredericksburg teaching at Chancellor Elementary School. She raised a young family here while her late, very devoted husband, Rosser, served as Lt. Commander in the Navy during World War II.

Known by her three sisters as the “sister with a cause,” she continued her activities and joie de vivre over her adult lifetime of 80 years in Fredericksburg. She exemplified Norman Rockwell’s figure in his “Freedom of Speech” painting, never too shy to stand up at 5’2” tall and be heard. When she was named The Fredericksburg Woman’s Club “Woman of the Year,” approaching 90 years old, The Free Lance-Star reported, “Kathryn Massey is still trying to get the world straight, a smile on her lips and her blue eyes twinkling.”

Her legacy for our greater Fredericksburg community includes being a charter member of several clubs: The Meridian Club, The German (dance), The Fredericksburg Assembly, and The Mount Vernon Club. As a friend of “Miss Annie” she served as a local representative with the regents of Kenmore. As a board member of The Fredericksburg Country Club she successfully engineered a write-in campaign to take over of the board in order to preserve its family centered goal. Gatherings for teens in her basement after James Monroe football games evolved into the organized “Dragnet” at local churches. She was active in the Ann Page Garden Club. She was the second woman to serve on the Fredericksburg City Council (1976-1980). Her later years were focused on health care issues, serving on the Rappahannock Health Advisory Council (1992-2006) and attending Mary Washington Hospital’s community membership meetings, losing the battle to retain community membership control of Mary Washington Hospital. She was ecumenical in her beliefs, attending church every Sunday that she could until the last couple months of her life.

Undoubtedly, the greatest legacy was her strong character and her devotion to family. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren relished spending time with her away from home in Fredericksburg and at her retreat on the Severn River in Sherwood Forest, Maryland. A quote from The Free Lance-Star made her first priority quite clear, “My family’s my first interest. I have got to make the world better for them.” How long and how hard and how bravely she tried!

Her husband, Rosser, died in 1991; and her grandson, Paul, and daughter, Nancy, preceded her in death. She is survived by her daughter, Martha Howden of Rochester, NY, whose children are Stephan Howden (Susan) and Kathryn Goldfeder; her son Blanton Massey (Betty) of Fredericksburg whose children are Gina Orban, James Massey, and Ann-Garnett Arendt; and her son Dr. C. Rosser Massey, III (Celie) of Fredericksburg whose children are Catesby and Harper and her late daughter Nancy’s children, Melissa Spillane, Jennifer Borregard, and William Harris. She had 19 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her sister, Ann Vernon Sullivan, of Charlottesville and many nieces and nephews.

The service for Mrs. Massey will be held at 11a.m. Thursday, June 18 at The Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg where the family will receive friends one hour prior to the service. Interment will be private at the family cemetery at Cool Springs Farm in Spotsylvania, Virginia. A visitation will be held from 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 17 at the home of her son, Chip Massey, 501 Fauquier Street.

Memorials may be made to The Presbyterian Church at 810 Princess Anne Street, Fredericksburg, VA, 22401, Church of the Messiah, Episcopal, 12201 Spotswood Furnace Lane, Fredericksburg, VA, 22407, or Fredericksburg Host Lions Club, 10402 Amherst Circle, Fredericksburg, VA, 22408.