Kathryn Schmidt Ditto
Jan. 21, 1937 - June 11, 2021

Kathryn Ann (Schmidt) Ditto, formerly of Valley Mills, was called home on Friday, June 11, 2021, in Waco, Texas.  She has rejoined the man she loved with all her heart and has waited 50 years to be together with him again. A private memorial service will be held by the family at a later date.

Kathryn was born on Jan. 21, 1937, in Clifton, Texas, to Herbert Robert and Flora Ida (Wessinger) Schmidt.    At an early age she worked at her mother's cafe in Valley Mills.  She was a 1955 graduate of Valley Mills High School. After high school she attended 4-C Business College and then worked for the Texas Farm Bureau in Waco for a number of years. During this time, she met and married the love of her life Charles Vernon Ditto on June 8, 1957. Charles was a Marine and served time in Korea just after cessation of hostilities.

They lived in Waco for a number of years before relocating to the D/FW Metroplex as Charles furthered his career in the aerospace industry. Kathryn gave up her professional career to focus on what was most important to them, providing a home for themselves and their two children.

Unfortunately, their life together was cut short when Charles was killed in a plane crash over the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii while working for the United States on June 13, 1971. Here, Kathryn found solace in her faith at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Arlington TX where she was named Woman of the Year for 1974.

Several years after Charles' death, Kathryn returned to central Texas and settled in Valley Mills to raise her children, Melanie & Robert, near her family.

As her children were grown and went out on their own, Kathryn returned to the DFW area to be near them and her grandkids. In the twilight of her life, she once again found her way back to central Texas. This time to Waco to be near her sister Peggy where she lived out the rest of her days.

She is preceded in death by her father and mother and brother David E. "Davey" Schmidt and nephews Randy Reeves and Scott Sonntag.

She is survived by her two sisters, Peggy Greenhaw and Jeanie Rambin. Her children Robert Ditto and Melanie Thomson. Her grandchildren Roger & Tracie Fox, Gary Thomson, Roth Johnson, and Kaitlyn & Megan Ditto. As well as her great-grandchildren of whom she was so proud: Riley, Braden, Trey, Ethan, Emma, Spencer, Tyler and Killean.

Additionally, there are numerous nieces and nephews that she made a point to write to throughout her life. Kathryn loved to write little cards and letters to her family just to let them know she was thinking about them.

You may sign the online register book at www.fossfuneralhome.com