Kathi Shupe Whiting Obituary (1951

Our dear sister, aunt, mother and grandmother passed away peacefully on March 13, 2018 surrounded by her loving family, after a courageous battle with cancer. Kathi was born in Phoenix, Arizona on April 9, 1951 and spent her youth in the Valley of the Sun. She attended Judson Prep School in Scottsdale, Arizona and graduated from West Phoenix High School. She attended Phoenix College and Brigham Young University and later in life, University of Phoenix. She also lived in New York, California and Seattle. Kathi was a successful realtor in both Arizona and Utah but her greatest career and her true vocation was a mother, rearing her four beautiful daughters, Maran, Tasha, Kessa and Marissa, with her husband Mikel, later divorced. Kathi’s home was open to all people – friends, family and anyone who needed to feel loved and empowered. Her daughters will reflect that their friends often wanted to be with Kathi as much as to visit them! She loved playing games with her family. She was a light to all she met. In the last few years, Kathi began painting and discovered an immense, hidden artistic talent. As she struggled with breast and later bone cancer, she shared her struggles and insights online and married her postings with pictures of her paintings. The dignity and courage she exhibited in her writings, coupled with her sharing pictures of her paintings inspired friends, family and thousands of people that never met Kathi. Kathi was a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served a successful full-time mission in Virginia. She also held many church callings during her life but her favorite calling was teaching Sunday School to the youth, whom she loved and inspired. As Kathi passed from this life, she left a legacy of love, charity, compassion, kindness, empathy, audacity and humanity. She was preceded in death by her dear mother, Veon and her brother, Steve. She is survived by her sister Victoria (Jim, deceased), her brother, William (Shannon); her daughters, Maran, Tasha (John), Kessa (Jason) and Marissa (Clint); and 11 (almost 12) beautiful grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, March 15, 2018 at the Bountiful 26th Ward, 200 North 200 West, Bountiful, Utah. Friends are invited to meet with family members from 10-10:45 a.m. prior to services. Graveside services will be held at 1:30 p.m. at Timpanogos Memorial Gardens, 1000 North 400 East, Orem, Utah. Condolences may be expressed at www.bergmortuary.com.