Katherine May Burnette lived a wildly successful fifteen years between June 28, 2001 and Oct. 21, 2016. People were always drawn to Kate because of her dry sense of humor, delicious Southern drawl, sassy attitude, awesome hair, and excessive use of jewelry. Diagnosed with mitochondrial disease at six months of age, she never suffered from it, likely due to her abounding stubbornness and refusal to consider that she had any “challenges” whatsoever. She lost most of her baby teeth during various sessions of tubing on the river, and the remaining she pulled out at inopportune times.
Kate earned an orange belt in T. Soo Do, played right field for the 2007 Huntsville City Softball Champions, rode horses, played the violin, snow skied and claimed to be the fastest runner at Weatherly Elementary school, despite using a walker. She was unbeatable at Wii bowling but unfortunately left us before completing the final level of Plants vs. Zombies.
Kate’s favorite activities included eating, dancing, and watching her brother play sports. Her favorite restaurant was Gibson’s BBQ, because she was allowed to go to the kitchen and pick out her own biscuit, eat green beans and coconut pie for breakfast, and go table to table collecting money on her birthday. She was affectionately known as “The Mayor of Gibsons.” Kate performed and took dance and yoga classes at Merrimack Academy, where she impressed Billy Bob Thornton with her creative writing abilities and received an autograph stating “Kate you’re great.” Kate cheered on her big brother, Wen at a ridiculous number of baseball and football games, when she wasn’t working in the ‘session stand.
Kate attended Holy Spirit, Weatherly, Mt. Gap, and Challenger schools. She was an excellent speller, won the Most Determined Award in Kindergarten, and was presented a viewer’s choice-winning science project on bath salts in the fourth grade. Kate’s parents are particularly proud that she mastered multiple digit subtraction with carries.
Claiming she never actually sinned, Kate nevertheless knew that God loved her so much. He endured his own son Jesus’ death so that she would live always with Him in eternity. There is a void in the world as big as Kate’s personality and she will be greatly missed by the many people who loved her, including the following family. Parents Darryl and Lesley Burnette, and brother, Wen Burnette; great-grandmother, Jewel Sharp, grandparents, Johnny Burnette, Ken and Linda Posey, and Vance and Linda Persall; uncles and aunts and cousins, Mike, Melody, and Bailey Jones, Tripp, Jennifer, Hayes and Luke Farrell, and Lee Posey, Joe, Tiffany, Amanda, and Hayden, Konenkamp. The Meet and Greet Team at the Pearly Gates included Kate’s grandmother Faye Burnette and great-grandmothers, Mama, Mama Lu and Mama Chris. Kate has finally met her two Papas, Daddy George, and Shorty.
We have shared many of our favorite memories of Kate in this obituary but would like to read some of yours at her Celebration of Life at Trinity Methodist Church’s New Room (607 Airport Road 35802) on Sunday, Oct. 30th at 2 p.m. Please email them to katiemayburnette@gmail.com. Join us after the Celebration for a reception at Aldersgate United Methodist Church (12901 Bailey Cove Road 35803).
Instead of flowers, please consider a donation to Merrimack Hall (3320 Triana Boulevard Huntsville, AL 35805) or the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (www.umdf.org). And be sure to eat some biscuits and gravy this week in honor of the fabulous Miss Kate.
Online Guestbook at www.crawfordservices.com
