Kathryn J. Summers' Obituary
Kathryn Valestine Jenkins was born on July 1, 1934 in Mississippi, but considered herself a Louisianan after meeting her future husband, Gene, while waitressing at Kress in New Orleans and graduating from Dillard University in Baton Rouge. On February 26, 2025 at 8:45pm, God called Kathryn home.
Kathryn, better known as Kitty Kat by her husband, was a retired Registered Nurse with over 55 years of expertise under her belt. She also held a Master’s in Nursing and a Post-Master’s in Community Mental Health. Army Head Nurse Major Summers was not only a Vietnam Veteran, but a Nursing Instructor at City College of San Francisco for over 30 years.
Kathryn was a vigorous member of the National Council of Negro Women Adopt-A-School Program, founding member and Chief Executive Officer of the Bayview Imani Breast Cancer Support Group, a member of the Bay Area Disparities Coalition (BAD-Co) and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Alumni Association. Early in her philanthropy, Kathryn created the Jenkins-Summers Memorial Scholarship Fund which aided in raising funds to help support African American nursing students at City College of San Francisco. Nothing stopped her from being an engaged volunteer within several organizations: Friends of Faith, the Southeast Commission Health Care Task Force, Saint Paul of the Shipwreck Health Ministry, and once serving as the Vice President and Secretary on the School of the Epiphany’s Parents Association.
Kathryn was very passionate when it came to advocating for and educating the local community on breast health and other health disparities. After losing her baby sister at an early age to breast cancer, Kathryn made a promise to herself that she would do everything possible to assist women, especially African American women, with easing the weight of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and survival. Being her sister’s spokesperson, caretaker and “doctor” (as Kathryn felt sometimes), this life tragedy made her more driven to respond and help African American women in the Bayview Hunter’s Point and other surrounding low-income communities. She could not ignore the need to get the information in the hands and minds of women about breast health, early detection and scheduled mammograms. Hence, she built relationships with CPMC’s Community Health Programs, UCSF’s Breast Care Center, the Arthur H. Coleman Medical Center and, at one point, established and managed the Margie Cherry Complementary Breast Health Center in Potrero Hill.
Kathryn LOVED being a wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, great-great grandmother, aunt, and sister. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Gene, their four children, eight grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild.
“I am old, gifted and Black, so it’s no time for me to start falling back as I continue to stay on the right track. You learn to accept the challenges along the way cuz the Almighty promised that there will be a better day.” - KJS
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