HIGH POINT, N.C. — Mary Catherine “Kathy” Blackwell, wife of longtime Baptist Children’s Homes (BCH) of North Carolina President and CEO Michael C. Blackwell, died Wednesday, Sept. 18, at High Point Medical Center. She was 78.
Kathy Blackwell was born Mary Catherine Kanipe on Nov. 5, 1945, in Winston-Salem, N.C., to the late Jack Edgar Kanipe and the late Mildred Deal Kanipe. The family soon moved to Charlotte, N.C., where Kathy graduated from North Mecklenburg High School.
After graduating from high school, Kathy enrolled at Brevard College, where she studied secretarial science. While working at a Charlotte radio station in the summer of 1965 during the midst of her studies, she met the man who would eventually become her husband.
“Michael and I met over the Xerox machine,” Kathy recalled in the book “Just Call Me Mickey,” a biography on Michael Blackwell published in 2006.
Michael was working at the station as a newscaster at the time.
After Kathy graduated from Brevard, Kathy and Michael began dating in 1966 after Kathy went to work in the Charlotte offices of Piedmont Natural Gas Co. The couple were married on Aug. 12, 1967, and they spent 57 years together.
Shortly after they were married, Michael left the radio station to enter the ministry.
“I was so in love with him it didn’t matter to me,” Kathy said in “Just Call Me Mickey.”
During Michael’s ministry — first as a pastor and then as president and CEO of the Baptist Children’s Homes for nearly 40 years — Kathy was supportive of her husband and his work, often behind the scenes.
“I am a very private person,” Kathy said in her husband’s biography. “I have almost always taken the supportive role, especially at BCH. Michael does not need me as an employee or to be upfront in his work. I keep a low profile, and that works for both of us. I’m quite comfortable assisting in hosting meetings and traveling with him to various churches and BCH functions. It’s a pleasure to meet employees, to thank them for the good job they do. Anybody who knows me well knows I am a nurturer and an encourager.”
The Blackwells raised two children and after they left home, Kathy embarked on a teaching career and furthered her education.
“Now it’s my time to be something other than a stay-at-home mom,” she said in “Just Call Me Mickey.”
Kathy became a part-time instructor at Davidson County Community College (DCCC) in 1988. She also enrolled in an evening program at High Point University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1997 after three years of night classes.
After graduation, she was elevated to lead literacy instructor at DCCC, where she worked until retiring in 2003.
In addition to her parents, Kathy was preceded in death by her sister, Rachel Denham.
In addition to her husband, Michael, Kathy is survived by a daughter, Julie Blackwell; a son, Michael Blackwell Jr.; a brother, Stephen Kanipe, and his wife, C.P.; a brother-in-law, Bob Denham; two grandchildren; and multiple nieces and nephews and their spouses.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date.
Wright Funerals-Cremations in High Point is handling arrangements for the family. Kathy’s full obituary is available online at the funeral home’s website.
