Kathie Stewart Samples

Kathie Stewart Samples passed away in Bradenton, Florida on December 4 at the age of 73. Born on May 22, 1951 in Lakewood, Ohio to Barbara (Sollenberger) Brown and Donald F. Brown, she was the cherished sister of Marcie and Karen, her identical twin.

After attending the University of Iowa, she married the man she always called her soulmate, Walter H. Samples. They enjoyed 33 happy years together before he lost his long fight with cancer in 2010. Together, they shared a love of miniature Schnauzers, boating, travel, and each other. They travelled to Santa Fe and discovered a passion for Native American art which led to an art gallery venture in Boca Raton, FL, known as The Sundancer Gallery.

Kathie always had a very compassionate and generous nature. She donated blood and platelets at OneBlood for over 30 years and for her final 3 years was delighted to act as mentor to a gifted student in Palmetto. When her twin sister, Karen, developed stage 3 Multiple Myeloma in 2008, it was confirmed they were identical (rather than fraternal) twins and she acted as both stem-cell donor and caregiver during her life-saving stem-cell transplant at Moffitt Cancer Center.

Kathie retired from her career as an IT Supervisor in the hotel industry in 2015. In 2018, much to the delight of her twin, she decided to sell her home in Boca Raton and move to Bradenton, where the twins shared a home and many adventures during her final six years. Kathie never encountered a creative craft she didn’t embrace with gusto (as her lakeview studio will attest). Art quilts, creative doll-making, knitting, crochet, jewelry, weaving, wearable art, bonsai, to name a few. She also possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of orchids and Japanese Ningyo dolls, and collected both extensively. She reveled in playing Mahjong and participating in book clubs. She especially enjoyed coast-to-coast book club meetings held via Zoom with her much-loved sisters and cousins.

Kathie’s passing is preceded by that of her parents, Barbara and Donald Brown, her husband, Walt, and her schnauzers, Bear, Samantha and Brandy. She will forever live in the hearts of her twin, Karen Thompson, sister and brother-in-law, Marcie and Larry Karlin, nieces Christie (Gearen), Lindsay (Karlin) and nephew Matthew (Karlin) and her schnauzer rescue, Barney.

Her ashes will be joined with Walt’s and interred at the National Cemetery in Sarasota. At her request, there will be no service.