November 23, 1945 – May 25, 2022

Catherine G. Green of Granger, Indiana, died May 25, 2022, in Mishawaka, Indiana. She was 76 years old. Known to all as “Kitty,” she was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on November 23, 1945, to Gentry Lee Kirby and Helen Gertrude Kirby. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication and English from Purdue University in 1967, her Master of Arts in Performance Studies from Northwestern University in 1970, and her Doctor of Education in Curriculum & Instruction from Northern Illinois University in 2000. 

The first act of Kitty’s 44-year career as an educator opened in 1968 in Community High School District 155 in McHenry County, Illinois, where she was hired to teach English and speech at Crystal Lake Community High School. From there, she rose through the ranks of administration, becoming principal of Cary Grove High School in 1987, at a time when only 10% of secondary school principals in Illinois were women. She later served as the Director of Curriculum for District 155 while completing her doctoral degree. In 2000, she returned home to the Hoosier State to take a position as Associate Professor of Secondary Education at Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, where she received tenure and became a beloved mentor, advisor, and friend to her students.

From her early days in the high school classroom, Kitty taught with her whole heart. As a professor of secondary education, she inspired her students to do the same. She shared her years of expertise in classroom teaching with the schools of the South Bend area and throughout the world as an advisor to Department of Defense Dependents Schools, the latter of which fueled a passion for international travel that took her to locations that included the British Isles, France, Germany, Turkey, Greece, and Japan. She loved sharing a bottle of wine with friends, enjoying a play at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, and driving her Mustang Shelby at what she claimed was the legal speed limit—no surprise for a kid from Speedway, Indiana. Her favorite night of the year was her annual Christmas party, where friends from all her social circles celebrated together in her home, elaborately decorated in an annual ritual she called “The Christmasing.”

She was preceded in death by her parents and is survived by her companion of 20 years, Carl Siepker; her sisters, Kay Tekle and Karen Eddy; her daughter, Heather Green; and an elegant but rascally ragdoll cat named Farrah.

A memorial to celebrate her legacy of generosity, service, boldness, and curiosity will be held at McGann Hay Funeral Home in Granger, Indiana, on June 18, 2022 from 4-5:30 with open speaking from 5:30-6 p.m.