Catherine Pearl Conrad

Mrs. Catherine “Kitty” Pearl Conrad (née Portwood), of Atlanta, Georgia, passed away on September 11, 2019 at the age of 94. Kitty was born to parents Marvin and Lois Portwood on July 20, 1925 in Atlanta. She grew up as the third of five children. She had two older brothers, Eugene and Marvin, and two younger sisters, Doris “Dot” and Dora “Billie”. Kitty married John Stanley of Ft. Scott, Kansas in 1943, just before he shipped off for World War II. When he returned, the couple had three sons: John, David, and Phillip. Always a working mother, Kitty was employed by Scripto in Atlanta as the first IBM keypunch operator in the city, and later as an executive secretary. Kitty and John divorced before he was tragically killed by a drunk driver in 1960. In 1966, Kitty married Edward Conrad, another veteran of WWII and a widower originally from New Jersey. Kitty, David, and Phillip moved in with Ed and his children, Penelope “Penny” and Edward “Teddy” at their home in Sandy Springs. Kitty also changed careers and began selling real estate in the late 60s. The couple later divorced but then remarried in 1973. They kept homes in Sandy Springs and New Port Richey, FL, as well as enjoying time on a house-boat in Georgia. In that year, Kitty earned a real estate broker’s license and started the Kitty Stanley Realty Company on Roswell Road. By her late 40s, Kitty and Ed were traveling the world and enjoyed entertaining friends and business associates—Ed ran a successful expo management company that produced trade and consumer shows such as The Atlanta Boat Show and The Atlanta Home Show. Kitty enjoyed saving, investing, and watching CNBC. She was also a voracious reader. After Ed’s passing in 1988, Kitty stayed at their home in Florida permanently and volunteered at the Pasco County Fine Arts Council and was a member of the Optimist Club of Port Richey. She also attended the Unity Church in the area and continued to read their publications the rest of her life. As Kitty’s physical independence began to wane, she spent time living with her son, John, in Fairfax, Virginia; her sister, Billie, and her husband, Howard, in Littleton, Colorado; and her son, David, in Stone Mountain, Georgia. After David’s death in 2006, she moved to Jacksonville, Florida near her grandson, Seth, and his family. Finally, she decided to return to her hometown of Atlanta where she received frequent visits and help from her granddaughter, Jill, and her niece, Jerri. She spent her final years at St. Anne’s Terrace in Buckhead. Kitty was always thankful for her long life of relatively good health, but was saddened that she outlived all three of her sons and all of her siblings. She was a woman of strong faith and believed that this life was only the beginning to a longer adventure. She will be remembered for her generosity, laughter, and always finding a silver lining to every dark cloud. Kitty is survived by many loving family members including three grandchildren, John, Seth, and Jill Stanley; six great-grandchildren, Tyler Luksic, Cayden Stanley, Keira Stanley, Jackson Leach, Mae Leach, and Johnny Stanley; her dear stepdaughter, Penny Clements, and her children, Treea and Les Clements; her stepson, Ted Conrad, and his children, Tyler and Ryan; and many loving nieces and nephews around the country. A graveside memorial will be held at Kennesaw Memorial Park, 1306 Whitlock Ave, Marietta, GA on October 19, 2019 at 11:00 a.m.