Kathryn Alexandra Richwine

Katie, Kathryn Alexandra Richwine, passed on January 26, 2026. She was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, to Constance and John Christopher Richwine, and was sister to two brothers, Andrew and John. A beautiful person, Katie served her country, was an adventurer and explorer, and she inspired others to be better than they could ever be before they met her. Katie passed in Seattle after a 4 year and 9-month battle with brain cancer, but was always positive, always pushing forward, and always getting ‘er done. When she passed, family and friends from far and wide came to wish her off to her new adventure, which she did with the same conviction, resilience, and quiet confidence that marked her life.

Katie grew up in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania. Her father, a retired officer in the US Air Force, and her mother, a teacher, imbued her with a love of art, sport, adventure, and service that supported and enriched her entire life. While drawing, tennis, skiing, or even golf were formative, Katie could not deny her true passion for the sea. Her childhood friends stayed with her throughout her life saying they have not known life without Katie.

She became a maritime explorer in due course, starting with a sea semester on the Atlantic, traversing the east coast of the United States on a tall ship to St. Thomas, and later sailing the Pacific, crossing the equator. She studied marine science and geology at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she found kinship with a group of phenomenal friends all enrolled in Eckerd College Search and Rescue Team (EC-SAR). They spent their days risking their lives to save swimmers and boaters in trouble in the Caribbean waters on the western shores of southern Florida, and summer days protecting the breeding grounds of sea turtles. The EC-SARs, as they call themselves, were a foundation stone upon which she built strength and rejuvenated her spirit throughout the rest of her life and especially in the challenges to come.

Upon graduation, she felt the call of service to her country. She started as a civilian working at the US Geological Survey. She pursued and was accepted into uniformed service and ascended to the rank of Lieutenant, Junior Grade, NOAA, United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Officer Corps. Stationed in Alaska, she became an arctic explorer on the NOAA Ship Fairweather as they sailed the challenging seas off Alaska, mapping the unknown depths of the Gulf of Alaska and the foreboding Bering Sea. True to her form, she became a rescue diver ready to risk her life to save the lives of others at a moment’s notice. After serving at sea, she was stationed in Seattle, which would be her chosen home for the rest of her life.

She was accepted to University of Washington on the GI Bill, the great institution that empowers so many to achieve so much. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Earth and Space Sciences: Applied Geosciences (MESSAGe), and after interning, she joined the United States Army Corps of Engineers as a Physical Scientist, a position she held until she passed, earning the Civilian Service Achievement Medal that recognized her exemplary service. Her job turned into friendships and support while working to clean up and mitigate Superfund sites in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, so that society could have a cleaner and safer environment.

Throughout her time in St. Petersburg and Seattle, Katie’s passion was racing. In St. Pete, she competed in triathlons and fell in with the St. Pete run club. Then in Seattle, she joined the Seattle Green Lake Running Group and built deep friendships with a core group at the Tuesday Evening Run (TER). It's where she met her partner of 8 years, Lukasz, with whom she made a home and adventured around the world. With TER, she raced and ran over mountains and was inspired to run marathons. She trained with TER and joined her St. Pete friends to complete the Eugene Marathon, which reinforced her drive for more.

In May of 2021, she was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (GBM), a devastating brain cancer from which she inevitably passed. Katie faced the devastating news that she had 24 months to live with such determination and confidence. Always with a success mindset and sunny disposition, she survived 3 brain surgeries, 2 gamma knife treatments, two rounds of chemo, general radiation, wore a TTF device that required her to shave her head and wear a backpack, and multiple immunotherapies. Under the supervision of Doctors, Surgeons, and Nurses at the Ben and Catherine Ivy Institute for Brain Cancer Research at Swedish Cherry Hill she beat the odds, fighting for 4 years and 9 months, far beyond the norm.

In this time, she always pursued novel therapies with a will of steel, knowing they could kill her or maim her due to unknown side effects. She participated in a vaccine trial, accepted state-of-the-art immunotherapy infusions and pills, and was the first to pioneer a novel approach to place dual-stranded RNA directly into her brain. Any of these could have led to immediate death, or worse, a life unrecognizable, but Katie never flinched as she stood on the precipice.

Even when she knew her last days were near, she pursued novel immunotherapy treatments and received FDA approval to be the first person to take it, but was too weak then to receive it. So even in the last two weeks of her life, she was still charting the course for others to follow for their benefit. With the same unflinching determination, she confidently decided to stop treatments and pass to the next adventure with the same speed and quiet grace with which she did everything.

Even while undergoing cancer treatment, Katie continued to strive and achieve. After her first brain surgery, chemo, and radiation, she ran the Chicago Marathon in just over 4 hours. She ran the 5VH Trail Run, 17 miles over glaciers and volcanoes in Iceland, after the second brain surgery and many more treatments. After gamma knife treatments, she went to Mexico, where she swam with whale sharks, and completed the Lake Sammamish Half-marathon in Washington State. Even when her prognosis was grave, she entered the New York City Marathon of 2025 where she was able to walk 5K, becoming the last official entrant to cross that mark in 1 hour 17 minutes and 22 seconds. Though Katie didn’t finish the NYC Marathon, she definitely won it. Through it all, she inspired and befriended wonderful people who supported her as she fought to keep the inevitable away.

After a beautifully sunny week in Seattle, in January of 2026, Katie passed peacefully, surrounded physically and virtually by people who loved her, a beacon of sunshine unfazed by the harsh hand she’d been dealt. To remember Katie, always keep a “success mindset and a sunny disposition”.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Katie's name to https://give.swedishfoundation.org/ Direct your gifts to the "Ben and Catherine Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment" for the "I would like to support" option.

Please share memories & photos of Katie on the guestbook located below.

Arrangements entrusted to Emmick Family Funeral Home ~ Lake View (Seattle, Washington)