MCCORMICK, Katrine

The Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Saturday, October 15, 2011 Katrine S. McCormick January 2, 1912-October 9, 2011 Born Katrine Sherman Groves in Kingston, N.Y., and raised in the Catskills in upstate New York, Katrine graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University, with a BA in both Latin and French. After graduation in the 1930s, she taught briefly, then worked for the U.S. Treasury in New York state and subsequently for the new Social Security Administration in Washington, D.C. Later in D.C. she worked for the Latin American Legal Counsel of Inter-American Affairs. During World War II, she was assigned to diplomatic work at the American Embassy in Quito, Ecuador. There she met Lt. Commander George D. McCormick, a Netherlands native, while he was stationed in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. They married in 1944 in a naval flight officer's wedding in the Canal Zone, Panama. They lived in Florida; Massachusetts, while George flew in the Berlin Airlift; Washington state during his flight service in the Korean War; finally settling in Palo Alto, Calif. They had two children, son Sherman and daughter Clare. George was lost in a commercial flight accident in 1954. After her husband's death, Katrine returned to work at first for Stanford University, providing editorial assistance to the botany department, and then for the Asiatic and Slavic Studies department. She later returned to government civil service at Ames Research Center, working administratively for NASA at the beginning of the Mercury project to the moon. Katrine retired to Prescott in 1980 to be closer to her son and his family then living here. Katrine was a dedicated member of The First Congregational Church of Prescott, serving on the Women's Fellowship and the Women's Circle. She was a Diaconate member and served as chairman of the scholarship committee. Katrine loved traveling, reading and learning about diverse ideas and cultures. She loved hearing of adventures and sharing ideas with her family and friends. She was an avid environmentalist and natural foods advocate before the natural foods and environmental movements; she commuted to work at Stanford on her bike. When younger she particularly enjoyed the national parks and hiking in the West. Into her mid-90s, Katrine continued walking and climbing the Prescott terrain, living fiercely independently; she passed away just shy of 100. Katrine is lovingly survived by son Sherman and daughter-in-law Sandra of Helena, Mont.; daughter Clare of St. Paul, Minn.; three grandsons, Nat, Evan and Jared; and by a new great-granddaughter. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13, at The First Congregational Church, 216 Gurley St., Prescott. Gifts can be made to The Nature Conservancy (4245 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203-1606, phone (800) 628-6860; or to Barnard College, Box AS 3009 Broadway, New York, NY 10027, phone (212) 854-2001. Information provided by survivors.