Katherine Szymanski Loftus (AUGUSTA, Ga.)

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Katherine Szymanski Loftus, 80, entered into rest Monday, April 13, 2009, at a local hospital. She was the beloved wife for 54 years of the Right Reverend Owen J. Loftus, Jr., retired US Army Master Sgt. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, April 16, 2009, at 11:00 AM at Ascension Lutheran Church, where she was an associate member. Rev. Michael Freed will be officiating. Mrs. Loftus was a Washington University of St. Louis graduate with a degree in Fine Arts. She taught 4th grade at Terrace Manor Elementary School and English and German at Hephzibah High School. She also was Chaplain of Unit 425 of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. In addition to her husband, she is survived by three daughters: Hildegard Loftus Pinkston of St. Louis, Missouri; Grace Black Hillyard of Augusta; and Katherine Piper Boully, OSB, of Spring Hill, Florida; one son: Owen Joseph Loftus, III, of Cumming, Georgia; and four grandchildren: Maria Pinkston Buschard, Jonathan Odell Pinkston, Sarah Grace Loftus, and Sean Alexander Loftus. The family will receive friends from 7-9 PM on Wednesday, April 15, 2009, at Elliott Sons Funeral Home, 2524 Lumpkin Road. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Audubon Society, 225 Varick St., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10014, or to the National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Dr., Reston, VA 20190-5362.

The Augusta Chronicle-April 16, 2009