Katherine Benz

Katherine P. “Kitty” Benz, age 92, of Madison, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, at Oakwood Village West. She was born on Feb. 10, 1925, in Takoma Park, MD to Walter and Florence (Tolson) Prichard. After graduation from Coolidge High School in Washington D.C. in 1942, she attended the University of Maryland, graduating in 1947. Kitty was employed as a social worker in Baltimore before coming to Wisconsin, where she obtained her Master’s Degree in Social Work from UW-Madison. She was married to Norman Benz on May 26, 1951 in Maryland. She was employed as a child welfare worker for the State of Wisconsin and also with Lutheran Welfare. Later she worked as a school social worker. Kitty enjoyed watercolor painting, genealogy research, jewelry making, gardening, and sewing. She and Norm loved spending time at their home on Duck Creek near Wyocena, Wis. They also loved traveling, especially to Naples, Fla. Kitty was a longtime volunteer at First Call for Help and was an active member at First Congregational Church, UCC. Kitty is survived by three daughters, Laurie (Jim) Egan, Wendy (Bryan Biggers) Benz, and Debbie (Kurt) Boettcher; seven grandchildren, Paul (Megan) Egan, Sara (Tim Connolly) Egan, Jeff (Tiffany) Egan, Carl (Liz Sullivan) Biggers, Eric Biggers, Brent (Stephany) Boettcher, and Blake (Mollie) Boettcher; three great-grandchildren, Adele Egan, Willow Egan, and Kai Egan; sister, Dorothy Gretz; brother, Walter M. (Audrey) Prichard; and many relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Norman Benz; father, Walter Prichard; mother, Florence Prichard; brother, Roger Prichard; and sister, Isabel Radford. Funeral services will be held at OAKWOOD UNIVERSITY WOODS, RESURRECTION CHAPEL, 6205 Mineral Point Road, Madison, at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2018, with the Reverend Eldonna Hazen and Chaplain Martha Nack concelebrating. Burial will be held at Highland Memory Gardens. Visitation will be held at Oakwood University Woods on Tuesday from 10:30 a.m. until the time of the service. The family wishes to thank the staff at Covenant Oaks Memory Care for their compassionate care of Kitty and a very special thank you to Wendy for all her time and devotion to mom. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Oakwood Foundation - Memory Care or to the First Congregational Church, UCC, Madison,Wis.