Catherine (Kitty) Pricilla Fixx was born on September 18, 1934 in New York City. She and her brother, James (Jimmy) Fixx, bestselling author of “The Complete Book of Running,” grew up in a loving home in Jackson Heights, NY. Her father, Calvin Fixx, was an editor at Time Magazine and their mother, Marlys Fuller Fixx, had been a ballerina. Kitty grew up surrounded by her parent’s friends, influential journalists, poets, artists, and creative thinkers, (dubbed the “interstitial intellectuals” by Robert Vanderlan in his 2010 book), who inspired her lifelong interest in painting, drawing and poetry. As a young girl, Kitty studied portraiture under the tutelage of the prolific artist, Boris Chaliapin. Chaliapin encouraged her to pursue her artistic talent, and at the young age of 11, Kitty rode the train into NYC weekly to study at The Art Students League of America. Her love of tennis was born at the Garden Country Day School in Queens where she and her brother, Jimmy, developed a friendly rivalry that lasted well into their adulthood.
Her father died when she was 13, and she and her mother moved to Oberlin, Ohio where Kitty pursued a degree in early education. After graduating from Oberlin College, she taught in Venezuela and Florida before marrying Walter Davis and moving with him to Verona, New Jersey, and then Santa Barbara, California. Her children, Martha and Tom, were added to the family in Santa Barbara before moving to Winchester, Massachusetts. After divorcing, Kitty remarried and moved back to Santa Barbara.
She was a creative person with a lifelong passion for painting, drawing, and writing. She loved tennis and running and was into healthy eating before it was in vogue. She served on the board of the Inherited High Cholesterol Foundation, for many years. She was an equally fervent activist, going door to door in the 70s to petition for school integration through the METCO program. She loved God and worshipped at the Episcopal church, where she was often a lay reader. She was an amazing mother who loved her children unconditionally and sacrificially. She lived many adventures and enjoyed deep friendships with kindred spirits. After the difficult loss of her 96 year old mother with whom she shared a deep and abiding bond, some cognitive issues began which resulted in the diagnosis of dementia in 2009. After living with her daughter in Los Angeles, she later moved to Kansas to be closer to her son with whom she lived surrounded by her son, daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. Kitty passed away peacefully in Salina, Kansas on Sunday November 13, 2022.
She is survived by her children: Martha Davis of Los Angeles and Tom Davis of Salina, KS; her daughter in law, Kat, grandchildren: Kara, Kate, Summer, and Zachariah, as well as her niece, Betsy and nephews, Paul, John and Stephen. She was preceded in death by her Father, Calvin Fixx, her mother, Marlys Fuller Fixx and her brother James Fixx; also by her husband, Walter Davis and her second husband, James Bower.
Funeral services will be held privately at a later date.
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