Katherine Mary Schoeffler ’80

Katherine Mary Schoeffler died Jan. 27, 2004, at Duke University Medical Center from a ruptured aorta. She was 44.

Kathy was born March 10, 1959, the daughter of Winafred N. Schoeffler and the late Dwight Schoeffler '46 of Sarasota, Fla.

Kathy was a doctoral candidate in the clinical informatics division of biomedical engineering at the Pratt School of Engineering, the first woman at Pratt to pursue a doctorate in her specialization: standardizing the coding of medical descriptions for clinical analysis. She did not finish her doctorate, but friends say that Kathy mentored them so that they could succeed.

Kathy's dedication earned her grants and the National Library of Medicine Fellowship in Applied Informatics. She was passionate about Scottish country dancing, which she learned about at Princeton, and she danced with several groups. Kathy was a certified dance teacher, trained in Scotland.

Kathy is survived by her mother; her brothers, Bill and his wife, Kim; Fred and his wife, Jeanne; and Tom; three nephews; and one niece. A burial service was held in Durham, N.C., Feb. 7, 2004, followed by a reception celebrating Kathy's life. Kathy was known as a kind and generous woman, and the class extends its sympathy.