Kathryn “Kitty” Sanders
Will be Missed by Many

By Alice Clayton
Canon to the Ordinary

Kathryn “Kitty” Sanders broke the mold of what people expected a bishop’s wife to be. She was a savvy businesswoman. She competed as an ice skater and a runner. She drove a red sports car that often housed a tangle of ice skates, running shoes and ballet slippers in the backseat.

She was comfortable in her own skin, and as her friend Ann Tharp said, “She was instantly drawn to small children, no matter whose they were. On the other hand, she did not suffer fools gladly.”

Kathryn Cowan Schaffer Sanders died in Knoxville on April 29 after an extended illness. She was the wife of the Rt. Rev. William E. Sanders, first bishop of the Diocese of East Tennessee to whom she was married for 47 years. She was the mother of Kathy, Beth, Laura and Evan. She was the daughter of G. Lewis and Elvira C. Schaffer.

She was an active community volunteer who recently served on the board of directors of the Second Harvest Food Bank. Known for her graciousness, Mrs. Sanders had many friends across the state of Tennessee and beyond.

“Kitty Sanders practiced the Christian virtue of hospitality. I always felt welcomed in her home. She had a wide friendship with many persons across the racial, religious and economic spectra. I shall truly miss this vivacious and lovely person,” said the Rt. Rev. Robert Tharp, second bishop of the diocese, now retired.

While Mrs. Sanders courageously battled cancer for nearly a decade, times of remission allowed her to travel with her husband and spend time with her children and grandchildren.

A native of Memphis, Mrs. Sanders graduated from the Hutchison School and later from Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She lived in Knoxville for 38 years and was the retired co-owner and manager of The Twitchet Needlepoint Shop and The Nail Salon. She was a lifelong Episcopalian and had been a member of St. John’s Cathedral, Church of the Ascension and most recently a member of Church of the Good Samaritan.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughters and sons-in-law Kathryn and Thomas Tompkins of Nashville; Mary Elizabeth and Robert Eckert of Alexandria, Va.; Laura Sanders and William Fauver of Nashville; her son, Evan Sanders of Nashville; her grandchildren, Jake and Katie Beasley, Christine Trosper, Thobie Fauver, Tee, Katie and Rich Tompkins of Nashville; Elizabeth and Robin Eckert of Alexandria, Va.; and her nephews, James E. Hall and John Richard Hall, formerly of Knoxville.

The Service of Burial, Holy Eucharist and Interment was May 3 at St. John’s Cathedral, Knoxville. The Rt. Rev. Robert Tharp, the Rt. Rev. Charles vonRosenberg and the Rev. John Rafter officiated.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to St. John’s Cathedral, Church of the Ascension, Church of the Good Samaritan, the American Cancer Society or the American Lung Association.