MANNING, Katherine

The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, AZ Wednesday, September 29, 2010 Katherine Cady Manning died peacefully in her home in Wickenburg, cared for by family and friends, on Sept. 16. She was 92 years old. Katherine Jean Cady was born in Fredonia, Kan., on Feb. 25, 1918. The only child of William Sheldon Cady and Jean Dowdy Cady, she grew up living in many different towns and cities across the country. Her father was advertising manager for the Scripps-Howard newspapers and was transferred on an almost yearly basis during her formative years. Katie felt she got her ease with people and ability to make new friends from having to adapt to these moves. When she was 13, the family settled in Pocatello, Idaho, where her father became part owner of the Pocatello Tribune. Here she enjoyed the opportunity to attend all four years of high school and make lifelong friends. After attending the University of Idaho for two years, Katie transferred to Stanford University, from which she graduated in 1939. She majored in journalism and was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma. While at Stanford, she worked for I. Magnin in San Francisco, and was courted by Fred Manning, Jr. of Denver, whom she married on Dec. 20, 1939. During the early years of their marriage, they lived in small towns throughout the west as Fred began his career in the family oil business. Katie and Fred’s three children, Cordelia, Deborah, and Fred III, were raised in Denver, Colo. During those years, Katherine became an avid golfer (in her life she made three holes in one), and a supporter of many local charities, as well as a full-time wife and mother. Fred and Katherine first purchased a home in Wickenburg in 1978 and spent most winters here until, after Fred’s death, Katie became a full-time resident in 1998. She was an active member of St. Alban’s church, a lifelong member of PEO, and for many years enjoyed golfing at Rancho de los Caballeros. She has also resided in Pauma Valley, Calif., and Grand Junction, Colo. In her 80s, Katie entered eagerly into the world of technology. She loved her web-TV and later her computer and moved easily from e-mail to SKYPE in order to stay in touch with her family. She never missed a birthday, and learned to create her own birthday cards online. When her family gave her an electronic “Nook” for her 91st birthday, she was delighted, and it became her preferred way of reading. She loved cards, crossword puzzles and games of all kinds, excelled at bridge with her friends, and intimidated all her grandchildren when it came to a game of Spite and Malice or Scrabble. She appreciated the beauty of nature and of art and was herself a fine amateur painter of the western landscapes that she loved. She was an active member of her community, in particular her church where she was for most of her life a member of the Altar Guild. She helped to needlepoint wall hangings and prayer cushions, and always contributed to the church bazaar. She kept all her family in her daily prayers. Katherine is survived and will be greatly missed by her three children Cordelia Manning, of Madison, N.J.; Deborah Manning of Wickenburg; and Fred Manning III of Ft. Collins, Colo.; grandchildren Scott Peters, Adrea Peters, Laura Shoaf, and Tim Shoaf and three grandchildren Sophie Carter-Peters, Isabel Carter-Peters, and Charlie Shoaf. Contributions can be made in her name to Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts, 2001 West Wickenburg Way, Ste. 3, Wickenburg, AZ 85390, or Hospice of the Valley, 9720 West Peoria Ave., Ste. 128, Peoria, AZ 85345. Arrangements are by David’s Desert Chapel Funeral Home of Wickenburg.