Obituary of Anna Kathryn Cheatwood

Anna Kathryn Cheatwood of Vincent, AL passed away on Saturday, December 21, 2024, after a life well lived and 101 years well spent. A graveside ceremony will be held in her honor at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, December 28, 2024 at Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, AL. Her family will receive friends following the ceremony from 12:30 P.M. until 3:00 P.M. at Marriott Brimingham, 3590 Grandview Parkway, Birmingham, AL 35243 where refreshments will be served. She was born in the Inglenook section of Birmingham, and her family was L&N Railroad people. Her father was a conductor, and her mother ran a family restaurant that served L&N yard workers and crews. She was a graduate of Woodlawn High School. During the war she worked as an overnight less than carload freight billing clerk for the L&N Railroad at an office in the yards on Morris Avenue. After the war she became a civil service worker for Jefferson County at the county courthouse. Her last civil service job was a leadership position on the Jefferson County commission on the aging, from which she retired. Her name was Kathryn but was affectionately known to everyone as Ms. Katie. She was instrumental in the early days of Orange Beach, serving as the first director of the Senior Center where she taught a wide variety of art classes such as painting and ceramics. She also planted the seeds and helped set the wheels in motion for many organizations and initiatives, including what we know today as the Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach. She may have retired at 80 years of age in 2003, but she never stopped working. In her later years, she moved to Bay Minette, creating community through her work at the Benefit Shop and her many friendships. She wore many hats in her 101 years. She taught music, worked for many years in the Jefferson County Probate Office before retiring to Orange Beach, and led and inspired many causes and people. Mrs. Cheatwood impacted thousands of lives along the way with the art that she created and the music she played. She lived her life with purpose and faith. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Frank Cheatwood, and parents, Frederick L. and Leary Higginbotham Dinken. Mrs. Cheatwood is survived by her children, Lynda Wolfe, Susan Cheatwood (Mark Cubine), and James Cheatwood (Virginia), and granddaughter, Kathryn L. Wolfe. Her family would like to express their deep gratitude to Mrs. Cheatwood because when you live 101 years full of so much love and goodness, gratitude is the only thing that remains. Online condolences may be offered at www.usreyfuneralhome.com. Usrey Funeral Home of Talladega is directing the service.