About Kate

 Thank you so much for visiting this space.  I hope it blesses you as it has blessed me. 

 I was blessed to be born the first grandchild in a five-generation family.My great-great-grandmotherr was almost a century older than me, and I was fascinated by her.  Every time we visited, I would climb up in her lap and tell her about the family on Little House on the Prairie, our family’s favorite television show.  “Little Grandma Minnie” was a contemporary of Laura Ingalls, and I am sure she found me slightly amusing, telling her about churning butter and crank phones and sewing by hand.  One day, I told her about the family riding in a covered wagon and she told me how her family had ridden in a covered wagon across the corduroy road, all the way from Noble County, Indiana, to Gladwin, Michigan.  That’s when I understood, at the tender age of 5, that time is fleeting and our ancestors’ stories deserve to be remembered and shared.  I became that child that asked many questions and begged for a story about what life was like when you were a child.  And those stories became my own. 

In 2015, a family member was gifted an Ancestry test.  Their father was adopted and I’d seen a talk show where they mentioned that a person’s biological parent could be identified by using a consumer DNA test.  So I got to work.  I didn’t know there was a whole genetic genealogy community, so I was completely on my own.  A year later, I’d identified both grandmother and grandfather.  I’d caught the bug and began pestering everyone that I knew who was adopted…and then their matches began to find me with requests.  I worked on my own, for a few years, until the fall of 2019, when I joined DNAngels and found a community of like-minded friends.

In the spring of 2023, I was asked to speak at the Untangling Our Roots Summit in Louisville.  Even though, as a pastor, I’ve spoken at least weekly for nearly 20 years, I was daunted by the feeling that there were many speakers much more qualified than myself.  After my presentation, several people encouraged me to propose a topic for Rootstech. And I did.  

And then a few weeks later, I found the lump.

I was told by my oncologist that we’d caught it early and I would not need chemotherapy; just surgery and radiation.  Unfortunately, I’m an overachiever and my biopsy received a high Oncotype score, which meant a greater risk of recurrence.  So, a three-month course of chemo began, with the last infusion being just three weeks before I would leave for Rootstech.

RootsTech 2024 became my Gold Star Day.  Throughout the entire treatment, I prayed and willed myself well so I could fly to Utah; it was a pilgrimage of sorts.  RootsTech was absolutely amazing, and afterward, I was encouraged by so many people to present more proposals.

At the same time, I was discerning a change in my vocation as well.  I still felt called to be a pastor, but I wanted to be part-time to make room for genetic genealogy and speaking.  And that’s when my pastor friend called me and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse, and everything fell into place.

In March of 2025, I spoke again at Rootstech, and the experience was even more powerful than it was in 2024.  I am so grateful for the many opportunities that have been offered to me by the wonderful people in the genealogical community.