Kathleen "Kathy" Margaret Oswalt

Kathleen “Kathy” Margaret Oswalt, maiden name, Walker, passed away on October 17, 2026, in Granville County, North Carolina, after a long battle with Lewy-Body Dementia. She was born on August 26, 1953, in Erie County, New York, and lived a life marked by service, steadiness, and a deep, practical love for others.

Kathy was, by nature, a helper. Those who knew her understood that caring for others was not simply something she did, but something woven into who she was. She was remembered as strict but loving, a woman whose standards matched her warmth, and whose instinct was always to step in where help was needed.

Her life’s work reflected that calling. Kathy taught first and second grade in Baltimore, Maryland; Joliet, Illinois; Kankakee, Illinois; and Elkhart, Indiana, guiding young children through their earliest school years with both firmness and care. Her commitment to young people reached far beyond the classroom. She served as a camp sponsor for junior and junior high school students, sometimes leading groups of up to 50 kids in a single year, and she also cooked for teen retreats, offering hospitality and encouragement in big and small ways.

Education and service remained closely linked throughout her life. Kathy earned her Bachelor’s degree in Education from Baptist Bible College of Clark Summit in 1975. After college, she traveled to the Ivory Coast, where she cooked for a basketball team, once again giving her time and energy in support of others. In her church life, she took special pride in decorating, bringing beauty and care to shared spaces and helping create welcoming places for worship and fellowship.

Kathy is survived by her husband of 35 years, Jimmy Oswalt. She also leaves her son, Michael Oswalt, and daughter-in-law, Meredith Oswalt; her daughter, Karena Johnson, and son-in-law, Shane Johnson; and her grandchildren, Lillian and Keaton Oswalt. She is also survived by her brothers and their wives, Michael and Sandra Walker, Kerry and Linda Walker, and Scott and Kathleen Walker, as well as Joel and Denise Walker, and extended family and friends too numerous to name. Each of them carries forward the memory of her strength, her devotion, and the many ways she gave of herself to the people around her.

She was preceded in death by her father, Owen J. Walker, and her mother, Margaret Helene Holtz Walker.

A burial service will be held at South Granville Memorial Cemetery, Old 75 Highway, Stem, North Carolina 27581.

Kathy’s life was one of faithful work, generous service, and enduring love. She leaves behind the example of a woman who taught, served, welcomed, and helped—again and again, wherever she was needed. Her memory will remain a blessing to all she shaped through her care.

Gentry-Newell & Vaughan of 503 College Street, Oxford, NC 27565, is caring for the Oswalt family.