Anne Marie Katterhagen, 78, of Tacoma, WA, passed away peacefully February 20, 2017, reuniting at last with her husband, Gale Katterhagen. She was born August 16, 1938 in Omaha, NB. She was the only girl, with a band of 3 brothers, born to Catherine and Charles Kirchner. The Catholic faith was a strong influence as she was growing up, a faith that would shape her personally and professionally towards a life of service. She graduated from Duchesne College and St Joseph Hospital School of Nursing. She met Dad while working in the hospital (where he was completing his residency). They married in June 1961 and moved out to the Seattle area. Mom had two passions, family and leaving the world a better place. Family first! She is survived by three daughters; Denise (sons Galen and Cooper), Chris (husband Mark), and Colette (husband Tom, sons Oliver and Owen). She is also survived by her brother Bill Kirchner (wife Vicki). She was very proud of her family and we knew we came first in her life. She worked hard to ensure her daughters grew up to be independent “contributing” humans! On to “leaving the world a better place”…in addition to raising a family. In 1976, she started Hospice of Tacoma (HoT), the first hospice in the South Sound, which became the largest hospice in the nation by the early 1980’s. (Hospice of Tacoma is now a part of the Multicare Health System.) During this time she was awarded Person of the Year from the Tacoma News Tribune and last but not least she also served as Chair of the Board at Bellarmine Preparatory School – first women to hold that position. Mom also brought her passion for hospice to the national level. Her belief in the importance of hospice work led her to partner with US Senator Robert Dole (R - Kansas) in 1983/1984 to propose and subsequently implement a bill that mandated Medicare and all insurance providers to pay for hospice services in the home. This change was instrumental in bringing hospice services to all and to changing the conversation of death and dying. During this time she also formed the National Association of Hospice, bringing the professionals together across the nation to advocate for this emerging specialty. After the kids flew the coop (went to college), Mom and Dad took their professional skills to various other healthcare systems in Illinois, California and Colorado. As Mom and Dad started to think about retiring, they started to travel and experience the wonderful and varied cultures around the globe. Even after the passing of our Dad in 2001, Mom continued to travel. One of her favorite places to visit was Africa, a place she would return to 3 times. As mom settled into retirement, in 2003 she was introduced and joined the Catholic Women's Club. This gave her another faith based community in addition to St. Charles Borromeo Parish, both of which would serve as sources of fellowship and spiritual strength. She would go on to serve as President of Catholic Women’s Club in 2005, a role which resulted in many new lifelong friendships. She also served for over a decade as a Eucharist Minister at St. Charles, with Saturday evening mass being her regular slot. During her retirement years she continued her involvement in the local healthcare community by serving on the Board of Directors for the Multicare Foundation and Franke Tobey Jones. During the last years of Mom's life we were fortunate to have her surrounded by various groups of "earth’s angels" - those individuals / care facilities whose mission is to care for the dementia patient with dignity and compassion. They surrounded our Mom with love and humor making a tremendous difference in her quality of life. A very special thank you goes to the staff at Horizon House (Seattle WA) where she spent her last year, Dr. Price at Virginia Mason and Evergreen Hospice (Seattle WA). We will never forget your compassion and kindness. A Rosary service, where all are invited, will be held on Monday, March 6th at 7pm, in the Garden Chapel at Mountain View Funeral Home in Lakewood, WA. A funeral mass will be held March 7th at 9am at St. Charles Borromeo, Tacoma , WA, with a reception immediately following in the parish hall. A Graveside service will be same day (March 7th) at 1pm at Calvary Cemetery Tacoma, WA. In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to Multicare Health Foundation noting support for Multicare Hospice. (Address: P.O. Box 5296, Tacoma WA 98415-0296)