Kathryn Mary Linehan

Kathryn (Katie) Mary Linehan, 40, died of complications from pneumonia on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. She was born to Timothy and Judy Linehan on December 20, 1984. She spent her life full of love and laughter in Olympia, WA.

Katie is preceded in death by her father, Timothy Linehan, and is survived by her children, Grayson Ray Thompson and Taylor Jade Meiterman, her partner and Taylor’s father, Mark Meiterman, her mother, Judy (Wes Hamilton), her siblings Kerry, Colin (Mechele), Shea (April), Timothy (Shaena), John (Kristina), and Daniel (Michael Helland), and Grayson’s father, Jacob Thompson. Katie was a loving aunt to nine nieces and nephews: Boh, Adrian, Chloe, Sadie, Audrey, Kaj, Denali, Holden, and Callie. Katie held extremely special bonds with her closest friends of decades: Kellee, Elisa, Amanda, and Katie M. and their children. Katie was Godmother to all three of Katie M’s children, Dakota, Liberty, and Ryan and Godmother to her nephew Holden.

Katie was the youngest of seven kids. She was loved dearly by her mother, was an incredible sister, and had a unique closeness with each of her siblings. The older siblings lovingly referred to her and Daniel, the second youngest, as “the twins” as they were especially close. The big family remains close and remembers Katie for the joy that shined through her every day, her radiant smile, her humor (she often laughed so hard she cried), her impressive perseverance, and her enormous heart. She lives on through everyone who knew her, especially her children. 

Katie appreciated the beauty and bounty of life. She loved sharing meals and time with her big family, watching her kids play with their cousins, dogs (all the dogs!), summer berries, a day at a friend’s pool with Grayson and Taylor, walking through the Olympia Farmers Market, phone calls with Daniel who lives in Belgium, play dates with friends, picking fruit at Tia Elisa’s, the beach and ocean, pop music, traveling near and far with her best friends, eating watermelon year round, and a good pair of hoop earrings. Katie always had fresh flowers in her home. Any time she went to a Thai restaurant, she ordered a fried tofu appetizer for the table. 

As a child, Katie was lively and silly. So naturally, she participated in many theater programs. She famously starred as Bach in “Bach to the Future” with her best friend Kellee, at East Olympia Elementary in 1995. She continued performing with her high school drill team. She graduated from Tumwater High School in 2003 and from University of Washington in 2007 with a degree in Political Science and a 3.87 GPA. Maybe she got a few more speeding tickets than the average person, but Katie was just always motivated to get to where she was going. Whether it was to help out her family and friends or the movement throughout her career in business and human resources, Katie moved with determination and listened to her heart. Those who loved her will love her forever.