Kathryn Siepak

Kathy was born August 27, 1962, in Pensacola, Florida, to Mitchell S. and Julia R. Siepak. In her childhood, she lived in Pensacola; Charlotte, NC; Bethany, OK; and Greensboro, NC. She graduated from Grimsley Sr. High, where she made lifelong friends in the Playmasters drama club. After high school, she lived a year in Manteo, NC, before attending Western Carolina University. In 1984, she graduated with an A.A.S. degree in Alternate Energy Technology from Southwestern Technical College in Sylva, NC. With her degree, Kathy worked installing solar energy systems in Greensboro, NC, several years before moving to Terlingua, TX. In Terlingua, Kathy held several different jobs, such as raft guide/cook, an experience that let her explore the mountainous regions of northern Mexico. In 1991, Kathy graduated from the University of Texas, El Paso, with a B.S. degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education. She used her degree in Terlingua, where she taught preschool and kindergarten in an English as a Second Language classroom. She had a special gift with little children and quickly became a beloved teacher in the community. She taught in Terlingua for seven years. Kathy returned to Greensboro, NC, in 1998. Her daughter, Megan Celeste Siepak, was born that year, and Kathy opened Blue Sky Child Care, an in-home, 5-star licensed day care for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Blue Sky let her take care of her own daughter while she worked, and she forged more friendships with clients whose children she taught. She ran Blue Sky three years before enrolling at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, to pursue a doctoral degree. In 2001, Kathy became a Research Assistant at UNC-G, then a Professional Development Liason before earning her M.S. degree in Human Development and Family Studies. She earned her Ph.D. in the same program at UNC-G in 2008. Her dissertation was titled Longitudinal Influences of Maternal Sensitivity on Infant Temperamental Reactivity and Emotion Regulation. After graduating, Kathy became an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin in Odessa, TX. In this position, she authored and was awarded numerous grant proposals. One of these helped her create and implement the Texas Home Visiting Program for parents of infants and young children. The program gives parents of infants and preschoolers information and structured activities to help them gain skills as parents. (See http://www.oaoa.com/news/education/utpb/article_344945be-7d09-11e2-a36c-0019bb30f31a.html for an article on this.) Kathy then returned to teaching young children in the public schools in Odessa before she became an Associate Director/Education Manager at Greater Opportunities of the Permian Basin (Head Start). In this position, Kathy traveled throughout West Texas, training teachers and helping parents of young children. In Odessa, Kathy was unable to practice her Quaker faith in a formal community, so she joined the Unitarian Universalist Church of Odessa, TX. There, she found a community that embraced her and her daughter unconditionally. Kathy died peacefully in her home with her sister at her side on July 20, 2017. Her enthusiasm for life, generosity, creativity, dry humor, and fierce loyalty will be missed by her family and the many friends she has across the country. Kathy is survived by her daughter, Megan Celeste Siepak; her parents, Mitchell S. Siepak and Julia R. Siepak of Greensboro, NC; her brother, Mark S. (Lisa) Siepak of High Point, NC; her sister, Karen Lee (Joe) Boardman of Boulder, CO; and her nephews, Derek L. Siepak of High Point, NC, and Elijah N. Boardman of Boulder, CO. A memorial service will be held in Odessa, TX, on Sunday, July 30, and in Greensboro, NC, date TBD.

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Kathryn Siepak

August 27, 1962 - July 20, 2017