Kathryn Dize Abbott, 92, of Roanoke, Va., and wife of the late Rev. Emerson M. Abbott, went to be with the Lord on Monday, March 25, 2019.

Kathryn enjoyed a wonderful life, surrounded by many people who deeply loved and appreciated her. Her 92 years were happy and healthy ones. Declining health only began in the past few years, with her real battle coming in recent weeks following hospitalization for pneumonia.

Kathryn, called "Kay" by the friends of her youth and by her parents and siblings, was born to Preston and Rose Dize in 1926 on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the small "Blue Crab" town of Crisfield. In addition to her parents, she was also predeceased by her eldest sister, Mabel Dize Landon, who died at a young age during childbirth, and in 2007 by her husband of 60 years, the Rev. Emerson M. Abbott.

Her daughters, Sharon Morgan and Michelle Tozier, were privileged to watch their mother live an exemplary Christian life. "She was the kindest, most patient, and most unselfish person we've ever known.... She was sweetness personified."

In reflecting on their mother's life, the daughters recalled many times she sacrificed her own wants and needs so they could have more. One such instance was the Easter finery for the girls and Kathryn's repeated wearing of a navy-blue suit for the holiday.

Kathryn was a voracious reader, rarely seen without a book in her hand. She would finish one book and immediately read the first chapter of her next choice. She also was a "word" person, excelling at Scrabble and other family word games and finishing the hardest of crossword puzzles.

In addition to being a master wordsmith, Kathryn was regarded as a fabulous cook. Raised on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, her specialty was seafood. Few restaurants in the Washington D.C. area could rival her crab cakes, and her fried oysters, fish, and crab bisque were to die for!

Kathryn Abbott dedicated her time to her Heavenly Father, to the ministry of her husband, the Rev. Emerson M. Abbott, and to her children, extended family members, and her many friends and acquaintances.

Sharon and Michelle watched their parents' childhood romance become the finest marriage "we would ever witness."

"They were still holding hands while driving down the road together—and they were in their 70s!"

Characterized as "very wise," Kathryn knew that a good marriage was filled not only with love but with compromise. She knew when to respond and when to walk away. These were but a few of the many life lessons she taught her daughters.

The perfect minister's wife, Kathryn treated everyone equally, never met a stranger, and greeted one and all with kind words and her beautiful, dimpled smile. After graduating from high school with a diploma emphasizing secretarial courses, she attended Bible Training School (BTS), a division of Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. She didn't know it then, but God was preparing her for a fulfilling and rich life in ministry with her childhood sweetheart. Her studies were devoted to Bible courses, secretarial classes and musical activities—areas that would serve her well as a pastor's secretary, a Sunday school teacher for any age, the women's ministry leader, an interim choir director, and committee chairwoman for every yard sale, bake sale, and donut sale sponsored by a church.

Following her graduation from Lee, she married her sweetheart, Emerson M. Abbott, of Cambridge, Md. Their lives together were devoted to full-time ministry with the Church of God (based in Cleveland, Tenn.). Pastorates included churches in Phoenix (Jacksonville), Ft. Meade (Odenton), and Baltimore, Md.; Parshall, ND; Milford, Del.; and Alexandria and Pulaski, Va. Ministry in later years took them to Administrative Youth and Administrative Bishop positions in the states of Indiana, Maryland (Delmarva Peninsula), Michigan, Maine, and Tennessee.

She is survived by her two daughters: Sharon Kaye and Reid Morgan (Salem, Va.); Michelle and Mark Tozier (Roanoke, Va.); two granddaughters: Kathryn Aprille Morgan and Matt Tobey (Salem); Adrianna Rose Tozier (Roanoke), and two great-grandchildren: Morgan Elyse Tobey and Wyatt Reid Tobey of Salem. She has one living sister, Rose Messick of Fruitland, Md., and many surviving nieces, nephews, and extended family members.

Her funeral service will take place Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at 1 p.m. at Bradshaw & Sons Funeral Home, 306 W. Main St., Crisfield, Md. The Revs. Terry Bowden, Samuel M. Abbott Jr., and Darcy Abbott will officiate. Interment will follow at Sunnyridge Memorial Park in Crisfield.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service.

Donations in her memory may be made to the Crisfield Church of God, 134 Maryland Ave., Crisfield, MD 21817.

To send condolences to the family, please visit www.bradshawandsonsfuneralhome.com . Arrangements are in the care of Bradshaw & Sons Funeral Home in Crisfield.