Evanston, IL - Katherine F. McSpadden passed away on February 24, 2026 under the care of Westminster Hospice in Chicago, IL.

Kay was born in Lewiston, NY November 13, 1941, the daughter of Mildred and John McSpadden. She attended St Mary's of the Cataract Elementary and High School.

After graduating from Niagara University, Kay earned a PhD in English from Loyola University in Chicago. She spent her career there teaching and working in administration at Truman College where she had been widely heralded by students and faculty for her remarkable kindness and steady competence.

In the 1980s she was selected by the Fulbright Exchange program to trade positions with a professor in Leicester, England, an honor and an assignment she thoroughly enjoyed.

Kay served many years in her community as Vice President of the Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society, a long-standing neighborhood organization Chicago's far-north-side communities.

Kay loved the theatre and traveling and spent her free time exploring the cities of many countries. However, Lewiston was her hometown, and she returned often for visits and special occasions with friends and family.

She is to be interred in Gate of Heaven cemetery after a memorial mass at St Peters RC Church in Lewistion, NY on 4/25/2026 at 9am.