Katharine Kaplan

Joy. Light. Radiant.

Katharine Jordan Kaplan of Elkridge, Maryland passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 26th in St. Augustine, Florida where she had celebrated a cousin’s birthday.

Born at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland to James Lawrence Mayer and Suzan Nelson Mayer, Katie grew up in Columbia, Maryland where she attended Howard County Public Schools, graduating in 1993 from Mt. Hebron High School in Ellicott City. She attended Radford University in Radford, Virginia, where she formed many friendships in the sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha. She completed her undergraduate degree, graduating Cum Laude from the University of Maryland Global Campus.

She loved her friends and family fiercely, especially her son Jack and excelled in weaving together a lush tapestry of different and diverse circles of people. She cherished those relationships, investing time and energy to sustain them.

Katie’s compassion, kindness, and organizational skills led her to invest both time and talents to causes dear to her heart. Most important to her was her work with suicide awareness and prevention, volunteering and captaining a team in the Out of the Darkness community walks for over a decade.

She took great pride in her work as a residential property manager and commercial facilities manager for properties in Baltimore. She was, at the time, the youngest graduate of the Property Management College of Southern Management Corporation and went on to teach at the same. She recently spoke at the International Facility Management Association’s “Breaking Barriers” event regarding her personal experience as a woman in the Industry.

Katie is now reunited with her mother and grandparents. We, her friends and family, will always carry her joy in our hearts, and will miss her more than any of us can express. Family events will not be the same without her energy and radiant smile.

Katie is survived by her beloved husband, Christopher Michael Kaplan of Elkridge, MD., son, Jack Ryan McDonald, of Elkridge and Columbia, MD., and stepchildren Michael Warren Kaplan of San Luis Obispo, CA and Sara Elizabeth Kaplan of Annapolis, MD. Also surviving are her father and stepmother, James Lawrence and Susan Smyth James Mayer of Shepherdstown, WV; grandmother Adelaide Friedrich Mayer of Towson, MD; siblings Christine Mayer Clingerman (Brian G. Clingerman) of Eldersburg, MD., Jeffrey Friedrich Mayer (Rachael A. Caruso) of Baltimore MD., and Elizabeth "Casper" Mayer, of Martinsburg, WV; also, much loved nephew and niece, Robert A. and Yvonne R. Mayer of Baltimore. She is preceded in death by her mother Suzan Raye Nelson, grandparents Helen and Melvin Nelson, and grandfather Lawrence B. Mayer.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. (https://afsp.org/)

The funeral service will be live streamed via Zoom, the meeting details are below:

Topic: Funeral Service for Mrs. Katharine Kaplan
Time: Jun 11, 2024 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88659191508?pwd=EovlbLjxSf5fIvbMNtQdbJfP2gJ7W6.1

Meeting ID: 886 5919 1508
Passcode: 12345