Bernhardt, Katherine Sunday
BERNHARDT (SUNDAY), Katherine "Kathy"
Katherine (Kathy) Sunday Bernhardt, 74, passed away peacefully on December 26, 2020 from complications from pneumonia and Covid-19, with her devoted husband of 52 years, Ken Bernhardt, by her side.
Kathy and Ken met the summer after she graduated from South Brunswick NJ High School, and they married four years later after her graduation from Douglass College. They moved to Ann Arbor where she earned her Masters in Library Science at the University of Michigan and then worked as a children's librarian at the Detroit Public Library. Not surprisingly, Kathy was a voracious reader who delighted in every opportunity to instill her passion into the minds of young children. In 1972 they relocated to Atlanta, where she served as head librarian at the College Park Branch Library and the Stewart-Lakewood Branch Library. After the birth of their daughter Karen, Kathy became a project manager for Focus Interior Contracting. From 2007 to 2018 she served as the volunteer Executive Director for the Honduras Agalta Valley Education (HAVE) Foundation. Kathy was ever grateful for the opportunity HAVE provided her to interact with the Agalta Valley school children during trips to the remote Honduran region.
More than anything Kathy was an amazing person who truly cared about people. She loved time spent with her walking group, her book club, her "Moms' Group" and her many, many friends. Traveling to new places around the world brought her great pleasure and she relished bringing treasures home, no matter how great the challenge of fitting them into her suitcase. Her energy was boundless as she gave time generously as a volunteer to Trinity Presbyterian Church, The Westminster Schools and Susan G. Komen. She devoted countless hours to her beloved Alliance Children's Theatre, where she never missed a show and chaired the annual Christmas House fundraiser three separate years. Her tenacity and perseverance in everything she did was an inspiration to all who were fortunate enough to know her.
Kathy was predeceased by her father, Elmer Sunday and her sister, Susan Sunday. She is survived by her husband Ken, their daughter Karen, her mother Barbara Sunday, and her sisters Janet Ditsky (Michael) and Ann McDowell (Ray). The family remains eternally grateful for the loving care provided by Roxie Ebanks after Kathy suffered a stroke three years before her death.
A celebration of her life will occur in summer 2021, when it is once again safe to gather in person. For those wishing to honor Kathy's life and memory, donations can be made to the Alliance Children's Theatre (alliancetheatre.org) or to the HAVE Foundation (havefoundation.org).
