Katherine Whipple Lepore

Katherine (Kate) Whipple Lepore was born January 12, 1971 on a snowy, cold, blustery day in Madison, Wisconsin. A graduate of Madison West High School, she attended the University of Washington, and Pepperdine University, where she received a MA degree in computer science and education.

She married Donald A. Lepore, Jr. at the First Congregational Church in Madison, Wisconsin on August 26,1995, and worked as a wardrobe stylist in Los Angeles, California and Nashville, Tennessee. Katherine loved books, movies, hummingbirds, gardens, the family’s cabin, traveling, her dog LuLu, and above all, her devoted husband and caregiver Don.

She faced her illness with enormous strength and courage. Her sunny smile, good humor and optimism endeared her to the staff at Vanderbilt Medical Center. Not a day went by where she did not inspire the people around her. She died peacefully at home on August 14, 2015 with her family at her side. She was forty-four years old.

She is survived by by her husband, Don Lepore; her parents, Hank and Judy Whipple, sister Sarah (Fred) Whipple; brother Michael (Laura) Whipple; niece Nina; and nephew Jake.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Stacey A. Goodman, Shelton Lacy, and the staff at the Vanderbilt infusion and stem cell transplant departments for their devotion and care.

Memorials may be sent to The Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, c/o Gifts Processing, PMB 407727, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37240-7727.

“In the midst of winter, what I found within me was an invisible summer.”