Kathryn Naomi Allan “Kathy”

“We hold you close within our hearts and there you shall remain”

Kathy passed away in the care of South Cheshire Hospital on 4th January 2022 aged 91 years.

Her funeral took place on Friday 4th February at Crewe Crematorium Chapel at 10.45am

Kind donations in memory of Kathy are going to MIND & MARIE CURIE

For further information and to offer your condolences, please telephone our Funeral Home on 01270 584447

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Kathy was a happy, caring, kind and fun-loving lady with a brilliant sense of humour
very much like the ladies on her favourite TV programme, The Golden Girls.
Kathy and her late husband Jim were totally devoted to each other and blessed with
three girls, Elspeth, Barbara and Annie.
She was a dear mother-in-law, a doting grandma, and had many other special
people in her life.
Remembering Kathy, The Golden Girl
Kathy was welcomed into the world on 1st October 1930 in Sellersville Pennsylvania
USA by her parents Walter and Edna Kulp. She attended Raub Junior High, William
Allen Highschool both in Allentown and then onto Moravian College in Bethlehem
Pennsylvania to do a Secretarial course. She worked in a library as a teenager after
leaving college she worked in Detroit, in Chicago she worked in Wrigley’s building for
Gladwraps, manufacturers of cling film and regularly enjoyed a ‘two Martini lunch,
she always said her typing was much better after the second Martini!
She successfully applied for a secretarial role for the American Embassy and was
posted to Libya travelling first class and met her future husband Jim at the first party
she attended.
After two years in Libya, Kathy returned to the US to collect her belongings then lived
in Scotland with her future in-laws for a year whilst Jim worked in Mid Wales.
They exchanged their lasting vows on 18th July 1960 at St Ninians Church
Stonehouse, Scotland and her brother-in-law John Millar had the honour of giving
Kathy away because sadly, none of her American family could afford to come over
but eventually her parents did manage to visit after a small lottery win which made
headline news in their local US paper.
Whilst working in Mid Wales, Jim fell in love with the area, so they moved to
Newtown where he was a GP and as well as being a full-time homemaker and mum,
Kathy assumed the role of PA, including answering the telephone day or night when
he was on Duty.
The three girls were all born and raised in the small market town of Newtown, 300
miles from one branch of the family and 3000 from the other. Kathy and Jim brought
the girls and various friends up to be interested in the world, in people and places
and to be independent minded.
The girls remember their earliest childhood holidays were in the UK. The have
fantastic holiday memories of Aberdovey in the late 60s with Aunty Bar, Uncle Tony,
Sue and Gill in ‘ovey Cottage, the D had fallen off! battling with a wind breaker and
rainy days on the beach.

In the early seventies, they felt like the first Newtonians to venture to Ibiza and they
went with the Buddies.

Four adults and five girls aged between three and eleven with the freedom to explore
whilst their mum, dad, Auntie Laura and Uncle Alun relaxed.
Then later on came the road trips in their VW camper van to France, Spain,
Germany, Italy travelling in style although they never slept in it, they preferred the
comfort of a hotel or apartment! They usually had lunch in the van with Annie and
Barbara reading lots of Jilly Cooper novels.
Kathy and Jim had a mutual love of travel with the family cobbling together the
languages learnt at school, Kathy with her Spanish, Jim getting by with German,
Elspeth, Barbara and Annie speaking French.
Their loving family home was called “Avonholm” and the girls fondly remember how
their Mum and Dad had an open door policy, all school friends welcome.
Kathy was an excellent cook with a creative flair. She was a mass caterer
‘extraordinaire. Of course, she prepared classic American dishes like meatloaf and
scalloped potatoes, meatballs and noodles in brown butter and chicken pot pie.
The girl’s parties were the best, second to the buddies! for barbecued hamburgers
and coke floats, the American influence meant having coke not squash, very popular
amongst their friends and the whole concept was terribly exotic for the 70’s in Mid
Wales. They always had great sandwiches stuffed full of good things and her meat,
cheese and mayo ratio was a thing of beauty, they had quality snacks and were
allowed twiglets although Kathy never bought Marmite!
And Kathy used to smother vegetables with butter and absolute favourite with the
grandchildren because their mothers never put butter on! She had excellent
Grandma visiting skills, giving the hot dogs and lots of fun.
Sadly, at the age of sixty-five, Kathy had to cope with sudden death of her darling
Jim whilst on holiday in Ireland, a huge shock to them all.
With stoic courage, she faced life without him and eventually continued to travel with
the Jones and Tony’s parents and loved cruising, enjoying the sights in places like
the Panama Canal, Falklands, and the Fjords. She visited family in the US, and
revisited Libya with Barbara.
In 2006, Kathy moved Nantwich in 2006 to be closer to Elspeth and Barbara and
often drove down to Gloucester to see Annie and Tony and help with Grandma
duties but she was always on hand to help with all four grandchildren whenever
needed.
She always enjoyed eating out and people watching, she often went to the theatre
and a bit of a film buff, she loved going to the cinema.
She loved visiting Manchester for a dose of culture with Bar and Sal.
She was always coming out with hilarious remarks like when she said to Annie “I
can’t give blood because I’m a registered Alien!” Towards the end of her life, Kathy
had many transfusions and Tony joked, “you must be fully British now!”

For years Kathy was a whizz on her computer and iPad, she even took lessons in
the eighties to become ‘tech savvie and encouraged the girls to have iPads too.
She joined the Stroke club and drove ambulances to take members on trips. She
frequently baked for the handicapped club and the girls always knew if they could
smell baking it was for the club and not for them unless she thought anything wasn’t
up to standard and they got the rejects.
Incredibly, she also found time to help with Meals on Wheels, the hospital library and
Macmillan Nurses fundraising.
Throughout her life, Kathy loved (in no particular order!)
The girls, Jim, Grandchildren, friends, dogs, food, G&T, wine, current affairs,
American and British Comedy including Morecambe and Wise, The Simpsons,
Gogglebox, and the Golden Girls. She enjoyed watching The Big Bang Theory and
Have I Got News For You. She disliked snobbery, any form of injustice, Donald
Trump, Marmite and Match of The Day – it was the only thing that would send her to
bed!
Her answer to any question, especially “would you like a glass of wine?” was
WHYNAHT? Her Americanisms / terms of endearment included – lover pot, coochie
bumps, sweetie pie and you all love a Daffy Duck lateral “S”.
Her daughter Barbara paid tribute to her mum with some very special family
memories.
She was much loved by them all.

May she rest in peace.