Kathleen Ann (Sharp) Mitchell

Kathleen Ann (Sharp) Mitchell, 104 years old, a longtime resident of West Seattle, died peacefully on May 15, 2025 after a brief illness.

Kate was born on November 10, 1920, the third child of Arthur Joseph and Eunice (Codd) Sharp on the family’s wheat and cattle ranch in The Dalles, Oregon. Her great grandfather homesteaded Galloway Farm on Threemile Creek in 1871.

Kate attended St. Mary’s Academy and graduated from The Dalles High School in 1939. She then attended Marylhurst College in Portland, Oregon and graduated in 1944 as an elementary school teacher.

In 1946, she married William Mitchell whom she met when he was serving in the Navy and stationed in the Seattle area. After his discharge from the Navy, Bill and Kate settled in Seattle because they loved it so much. They eventually bought their home on Belvidere Avenue in West Seattle where Kate lived for 67 years.

Kate worked at Frederick and Nelson in the payroll department. She also worked an evening shift at Shyler’s Multiphone Company as a Hostess, playing 78 rpm records. Customers in various restaurants around the city could put a nickel in the Multiphone which was located at their table. Kate would then say, “selection please” and play the requested song. She said that she worked until midnight and then would go dancing, getting up in the morning to go back to work at Frederick and Nelson. She always had so much energy.

She retired from The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A & P ). In retirement, she was the bookkeeper at Blake’s Bakery on California Avenue and had other freelance clients.

Bill and Kate loved the outdoors. With friends, they often fished in Puget Sound and skied in the mountains. They played Bridge and had fun throwing parties and socializing with their neighbors. Kate’s annual Christmas Nativity window was well known on Belvidere Avenue.

Bill passed away in 1977, and Kate faced the future with resiliency and determination. She never had children or remarried, but lived with a deep faith and a zest for life.

Kate participated in many community organizations. She loved the visual and performance arts and had season tickets to all the organizations in Seattle. She was a member of Seattle Opera Guild, NW Pacific Ballet League, the Seattle Volvo Club and the Seattle Garden Club.

She traveled to Europe, Asia, Scandinavia and Russia and around the United States.

As a devout Catholic, Kate was very active at Holy Rosary Parish in West Seattle. She spent her final years at Providence Mount St. Vincent.

Kate is remembered as a very cheerful, happy person and a loyal friend. She was always ready to have fun or to help whenever she was needed. She remembered everyone’s birthday and planned dinners and celebrations for family and friends.

Kate was preceded in death by her husband, William Mitchell, her sister, Joan Frischmuth, and her brothers, Edward Sharp and Patrick Sharp.

She is survived by many nieces and nephews who will miss her very much.

God bless our Aunt Kate.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 4139 42nd AV SW, in West Seattle on Thursday June 12, 2025 at 10:00 am. Burial will follow at Holyrood Catholic Cemetery, in Shoreline, WA.

In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Providence Mount St. Vincent Foundation.

- Care Entrusted to Emmick Funeral Home -