Kathleen (Kathy) Angustia

Kathleen (Kathy) Terri Angustia, born November 11, 1946, was a beloved daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother. Kathy passed peacefully in her sleep on January 9, 2024 at a memory care facility in Potomac, Maryland, having endured a cruel battle with Alzheimer's disease for more than 12 years. She was 77 years old.

Kathy graduated from Elyria High School in Elyria, Ohio in 1964 and attended Kent State University for two years. She spent time in the workforce as an administrative professional and business manager in medical settings. The love of her life, Alberto Angustia, swept her off of her feet while paying her visits between his medical rounds as a resident at the Elyria Memorial Hospital. On April 21, 1966, they threw caution to the wind when they crossed the Ohio state line to elope in Michigan. They later lived together in Findlay, Ohio, Boston, Massachusetts, and Potomac, Maryland.

Kathy’s generous nature led to many selfless pursuits, including fundraising for the local hospital, volunteering as a swimming instructor for children with learning differences, and assisting a Vietnamese family of refugees as they assimilated to life in the U.S. by providing them with housing. Kathy believed that service to others was imperative and inspired others to do the same. She was widely known as a caretaker for others and for the endless reservoir of compassion that filled her heart.

In her free time, Kathy was a voracious reader who devoured a wide range of literature, nonfiction, poetry, and even her husband's medical journals to satisfy her curious mind. She played the guitar and piano and possessed a deep and wide-ranging appreciation of music, spanning from classical to jazz to rock. She had a particular fondness for live musical and theatrical performances. Kathy connected easily with everyone and anyone and reveled in conversations about art, current events, and history. She was an exquisite cook and baker who mastered a multitude of international and artisanal cuisines. Her creations in the kitchen were as love-filled as they were delicious. And she threw a darn good dinner party. Kathy also welcomed adventure, travelling the world and delighting in opportunities to learn about other countries, religions, and cultures. She was accepting of everyone and anyone and was gracious to people from all walks of life as long as they were nice people.

Kathy’s core sense of self found its source in her role as wife, homemaker, and mother, where she gave her love and time utterly and without reservation. Her unwavering dedication to her family continued upon the birth of her greatest loves, her grandchildren, Sloane and Penelope. Days with her grandchildren were filled with playing games, baking cookies, and singing songs, a legacy of loving memories that will be passed down for generations.

Kathy’s passing leaves the earth dimmer for the many people who loved her. She is survived by her husband of 57 years, Alberto Angustia of Potomac, Maryland, brother Earl Homsher (Dianne) of Los Angeles, California, sister Diane Eatherton of Philomath, Oregon, Gale Iannone (Gary) of North Haven, Connecticut, and daughter Kate Angustia (Jason) and grandchildren, Sloane and Penelope, of Potomac, Maryland, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents Earl and Irene Homsher, her son, F. Scott Angustia, and her brother, Michael Homsher (Gay Ann).

Her end-of-life wishes were to forego a funeral or a memorial service. Instead, we have assembled this website where you can offer words of comfort and share memories and photos. Hearing from you will help us heal from this tremendous loss and will help keep Kathy’s memory alive.

If you wish to honor Kathy, please consider making a donation to the BrightFocus Foundation to support Alzheimer's disease research (https://www.brightfocus.org/alzheimers).

Thank you for honoring Kathy’s memory. We thank everyone for your outpouring of love and support during this extraordinarily difficult time.

We leave you with a few words of the Dalai Lama that reflect Kathy’s outlook on life. She was inspired by his teachings after seeing him speak when he visited Findlay, Ohio in 1996.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.
~ Dalai Lama