Kathryn B. Weinrich (affectionately known by all as “Kippy”) passed away peacefully on the morning of October 23^rd with her husband Edward at her side and surrounded by loved ones.  Hers was a life well lived.

 Kippy was born in Atlantic City and grew up at the shore in Ventnor, NJ.  As a young girl she attended St. James elementary school in Ventnor and then went on to Atlantic City High School, there she met and fell in love with her  lifelong partner and best friend Edward Weinrich (ACHS class of 1951).  She graduated in 1952 and then went to work for the medical offices of Dr. Harry Sweeney as well as the Guarantee Bank in Atlantic City.

 Kippy and Ed married in 1956. Their happy adventure of life and love started.   During the first two years of their marriage they lived in Honolulu, Hawaii where Ed was stationed for military duty serving in the U. S. Army.  The oldest of their five sons, Ted (Edward Jr.) was born while the newlyweds lived on the white sandy beaches of sunny Hawaii.  From the very beginning of their relationship and throughout their married life Kippy adored Ed and Ed adored Kippy.  They shared a great love affair that eclipsed six decades.

            Kippy happily excelled in her new role as a young mother and Ed resumed his place in the Willow Grove family business when they returned to the continental United States. Shortly after returning, she and her husband welcomed another son, Michael soon to be followed in the next couple of years by the arrivals of sons Herman and John.  After 10 years of being a stay at home mother raising her boys Kippy embarked on a new journey, and became the face of and force behind a Willow Grove institution, Weinrich’s Bakery. It was her husband’s dream to operate the family retail bakery business and it did not take long for Kippy to excel in her new role as CEO of the family operation.  Quickly, she learned the complexities and challenges in successfully operating a small business and raising her boys.  A couple of years later, Kippy and Ed welcomed their youngest son Stephen into the family and their growing retail bakery business.

While working and raising the family Kippy and her husband made time in their lives to travel all over the world. She enjoyed many, many trips to far away locations.  Their adventures were always enhanced by the entourage of family and friends that accompanied her on the fun-filled journeys.  In addition to her globe-trotting ways she always returned to her roots at the Jersey shore and hosted countless get-togethers of family and friends at her home in Ventnor.

In addition to the busy-ness of devotion to her family and business, Kippy volunteered to serve on the American Cancer Society board of directors.  She was a strong, dedicated director for over 25 years.  Having lost a childhood girlfriend to breast cancer, Kippy decided to offer her time and talent to the ACS and served as the public information director for Montgomery County.  In honor of her years of ACS service, she was awarded the Ruby Award for Excellence in Public Education.  Throughout her adult life, she was always an active participant in community activities and never left to others what she believed was important to her community.  She made a positive impact in ways too numerous to list, supporting many causes and organizations and without hesitation lending support to her church, local schools and other charities.   With love in her heart, gratitude and appreciation for the blessings she had received, she recognized the important work that needed to be done.  One particular example of her kindness was that she provided birthday cakes for those in hospice care to celebrate what inevitably was their final birthday milestone. 

Many families were able to celebrate all of their special occasions with Kippy.  She loved life and all opportunities to bring a smile to the faces of many.  She especially liked to greet families with small children with a cookie or a cupcake and loved to see the children light up with enjoyment.  She brought to the business a perspective of celebration.  Her business was one that celebrated life’s most important moments.  Her enjoyment shone through to all those she served. 

At mid-life, having seen the great benefits received by her five sons and her husband, all of whom attended Villanova University, she decided to register and attend Villanova as a 52 year old freshman.  She quickly demonstrated her abilities to excel in the area of higher education.  Besides stressing the importance of formal education, the lesson she imparted on her family was that if you wanted to achieve an objective, the key was hard work and perseverance.  Her take was that no obstacle was insurmountable, it could be overcome by working harder and if it meant getting up a little earlier, that was always done. 

Life was always a great adventure for Kippy and her sweetheart husband Ed.  As years went by, and her growing family expanded, she became a grandmother and Kip and Ed became known to her family as Oma and Opa. 

After completing her life’s work full of love, joy, compassion and numerous acts of kindness, she is survived by her loving Husband Edward, with whom she celebrated her 59^th Wedding anniversary on October 20, 2015, as well as her sons Ted (Stella), Michael (Debra), Herman (Beth), John (Linda), Stephen (Kristin) and her grandchildren Anne Marie, Ted, Nicole, Andrew, Avery, Austin, Stephanie, John, Alex, Beth, Tara, Nina (Nick), Matt, James as well as great granddaughter Emma.

As matriarch and family historian she blessed her family with lessons of grace, optimism, love, and wisdom.

The Weinrich family cordially invites all friends and those who were touched by Kippy to the George Fitzpatrick Funeral  Home at 1500 Old York Road, Abington, PA 19001 for a viewing Monday evening October 26^th from 7pm to 9pm and Tuesday morning October 27^th 9am to 10am.  A Mass celebrating her entry into eternal life will be 11am Tuesday October 27^th at Immaculate Conception Church, 602 West Avenue, Jenkintown, PA.  Donations may be made in Kippy’s honor to St. Joseph’s Manor in Meadowbrook, PA.  Her family deeply appreciated the excellent care she received as a resident of St. Joseph’s Manor.