Katherine Faye Bolden's Obituary
Honoring and celebrating the life of Katherine Faye Butler Bolden. Kathy or Kat as she is also known went home to be with the Lord on October 15, 2023. Katherine Faye Butler was born in Sidon, Mississippi on December 30, 1939, to the union of Jessie Belle Nichols and Booker T. Butler.
Kathy grew up on many acres of family land in Harperville, Mississippi; nurtured by the love of her paternal grandparents. After receiving her formal education in Mississippi, she moved to California where her mother lived.
In Oakland, California at the age of 18, Kathy met William (Bill) Bolden who would become her devoted husband of nearly 65 years. Bill was a debonair Navy man that was in town visiting his Aunt when he met Kathy. Kathy happened to be friends with Bill or “Willie” as his family called him 1st cousin. Bill had often commented on how he had traveled the world, so he knew a good woman when he saw one. When Bill met Kathy, he knew he had seen a good one. Bill made his move and romanced Kathy and they were married six months layer. To that union their daughter Valerie Ann Bolden was born.
As a young wife and mother, Kathy worked at Sunshine Biscuits. She worked there for may years before going to business school where she learned data entry. After completing business school, she secured a position at Moffett Fields AFB which was a long commute from Hayward. In 1974, Kathy secured a position at Cal-State Hayward University which was just minutes away form her home. Kathy enjoyed her employment at the university and retired after working there for 28 years as a computer account specialist.
Kathy and Bill were true lovers, at least that’s how my story goes. I saw love expressed by my parents for one another and others in many different ways. Love was my Mother’s modus operandi and she demonstrated it daily with the people and things she loved.
My mom loved traveling, especially cruising and had sailed over 30 times. She had a passion for reading and was an avid reader throughout her life. She loved to learn as well as travel, so watching the travel channel brought two of her passions together. My Mom enjoyed going to the movies. She would go with my Father or me at times, but you could often catch her going alone to the first showing of the day. If you ever walked with my Mom, you know she walked very fast. You couldn’t dawdle when you walked with her, or you’d get left behind. My Mom said her favorite church activity was Sunday School and she loved it when she was a Sunday School teacher at Church by the Side of the Road. Music was a great love for her as well. My parents enjoyed decades of their annual visit to the Monterey Peninsula as season ticket holders to the Monterey Jazz Festival, but my Mom also had a diverse taste in music; she listened to soul, rock, R&B and classical. My Mom’s love for music made her a fan of watching MTV in its earliest days. She particularly enjoyed watching the dancers in the music videos. My Mom’s love for music was a natural extension for her love for musicals and plays. Attending musicals and plays were activities we did as a family, a mother/daughter activity or one she shared with friends. As many of us do, my Mom loved ice cream – vanilla Haagen Dazs in particular was her favorite. My Mom was subtly competitive and loved playing board games and other types of games. Her quiet/subtle competitiveness would often be seen when playing her favorite card game 99 which she played whenever possible with friends and family. Of course, Mom had other loves and interests, but these are some of my fondest memories of her.
My Mother, Kathy, was a loving woman. She was full of kindness and generosity always and in all ways. She was quiet and soft spoke, but her love was bold and strong. She will truly be missed but not forgotten because her love lives on in all of us!
What’s your fondest memory of Katherine?
What’s a lesson you learned from Katherine?
Share a story where Katherine's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Katherine you’ll never forget.
How did Katherine make you smile?