Katherine Joan Mounts
Katherine Joan “Kay Jo” Mounts, 73, passed away Wednesday, December 19, 2012, near her home in Morgan Hill, Calif.
She was a daughter of Robert Lester and Dorothy Hanna Mounts and granddaughter of Morton and Stella Hanna and Robert and Mable Mounts.
She is survived by her son and his wife, Brian and Erin (Calvert) Scalzi; granddaughter Ashton Scalzi and her daughter, Quinn; granddaughter Alexis and husband Neal Dunn and their sons, Peyton and Carson; granddaughter Camerin Scalzi, a senior at McGuffey High School; and her sister and brother-in-law, Cheryl (Mounts) and John Anderson of Santa Cruz, Calif.
She graduated from Claysville High School in 1957 and Washington Hospital School of Nursing in 1960. She attended Washington & Jefferson College and received her bachelor of arts degree in nursing from Duquesne University.
Much of her career was spent as a surgical nurse and nursing instructor at Washington Hospital. She held similar positions in Richmond, Va., and Centinela Hospital, Los Angeles, Calif. She also worked for the American Red Cross, pioneering its tissue procurement program, now in its 25th year. For 10 years, she was a home health nurse in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. The final step in her nursing career was as instructor for surgical nursing at Ohio State University Hospital, Columbus, Ohio.
In her retirement, she took up pottery and biking and the care of homeless animals. The generating passions of her life included her family, her son and his family, her love of teaching and her students, and her treasured friends.
A celebration of her life will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, December 30, in Buffalo Township Community Center, 400 Buffalo Center Lane, Washington. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to American Cancer Society or a charity of one’s choice, in her name. Please contact Cheryl Anderson at 831-277-9017 or cranders@cabrillo.edu.