Katherine Ann Foster

Katherine Ann Foster, “Kathy” of Las Vegas, Nevada, passed away on Monday, October 20, 2025, at the age of 76. She was born on September 5, 1949, in Bethesda, Mayland, and grew up in Bozeman, Montana. Her father, Paul “Tim” Fitzgerald was a career Navy man and a Pearl Harbor Survivor. When he retired in 1957, he moved the family to Bozeman, Montana. He decided on Bozeman because he could hunt and fish and there was also a public university where his children, Tim and Kathy, would get a good education. Both children attended elementary and high school in the Bozeman school system.

Kathy graduated from Montana State University and earned two degrees there, a Bachelors in Education and a Masters in Administration a few years later. After graduation in 1971, she began her career as a third grade teacher at Montforton School. She then went on to become Principal and later, Superintendent. Kathy was named “Montana Principal of the Year” in 1986 and was invited to Washington, DC, for a celebration of all selectees. She retired in 1997 after 25 years at Montforton. Kathy then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, to take a job with the Clark County School District. She was initially awarded a job as an assistant Principal, but the leadership at Clark County quickly recognized her talent and she moved swiftly on as an assistant to the Deputy Superintendent, Business Manager (responsible for purchasing, food service, transportation, and contract resolution), and finally Chief of Staff for the Superintendent, the first one in Clark County history. Kathy helped to open seventy schools in Clark County, reorganized the transportation system to run more efficiently (120,00-150,000/students a day), purchasing expenditures of $1,000,000 per day, and handled dispute resolution. When she retired after 10 years with Clark County, they hired three administrators to replace her!

Kathy was preceded in death by her mother, Mildred (Schweigert) Fitzgerald; father, Paul Fitzgerald; brother, Tim Fitzgerald; her daughter, Thresa Pattee. She is survived by her husband, Marvin J. “Skip” Foster; step-son, Brad Foster, and his wife, Naomi Magnus; as well as dear friends, Susanna and John Graves.

Kathy loved to golf, travel, read, knit, and just hang out with friends. She donated her time and money to the Chi Omega Sorority, Tunnel to Towers, Three Square Meals in Las Vegas, Alzheimer’s, and Cancer research. Her daughter, Thresa, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2020 and Kathy spent three plus years helping to care for her at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and Eau Claire, WI, as well as M.D. Anderson in Houston, TX, where her aunt, Joan Fitzgerald, housed and fed them. After Thresa passed in March of 2024, we slowed down our travels a bit and just concentrated on spending time at our cottage in Wisconsin, and the Big Island of Hawaii.

The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for the care and compassion they showed Kathy in her final days. Also friends, family, and neighbors who were with her at the end: Shahar Maxon, Randi Bucholtz, Anne Gingles, Keely Hillison, Julie Stadler, Judy and Jim Kropid, Brad Foster, Julie Hanen, and her husband.

Personal Story from Skip: In 1997, I decided that Wisconsin winters were no longer fun, and so I purchased a town home on Summer River Avenue in Las Vegas. Later that Spring, I noticed a car with Montana plates in the adjoining driveway. I had a lot of friends in Montana and fished, hunted, and skied there for many years, so I went next door and knocked to find a red-haired Irish lady with a big smile. We became friends for a while and then more than friends. I finally asked her how she chose Summer River to buy a place next to mine. She said that she always wanted to live on a golf course and her realtor found a place that filled that square. However, it had just been recarpeted in pink! Due to circumstances, she couldn’t afford to recarpet so she moved in next to me. We always said “thank God for the pink carpet”. We would have been married 25 years on November 12, 2025, and she provided me with some of the happiest years that I have ever had.

Family and friends will be notified of a Celebration of Life for Kathy at two locations, one in Bozeman, MT, and another in Racine, WI, once details are finalized. Potential dates will be early Spring or early Summer 2026. A trust in Kathy's memory is being set up to benefit the students at the Montforton School in Bozeman, MT. Once completed, you're welcome to donate to the trust or any charity of your choice (suggested charity of choice would be to pancreatic cancer research since there is no cure currently).