Kathleen Elizabeth Land - Obituary

athleen Elizabeth Burcham Land, 94, passed peacefully at the Ginger Cove Health Center in Annapolis, MD on Tuesday, July 4. Born on December 19, 1928, in Jonesville, NC to the late John Bartlett and Margaret Poplin Burcham, Kathleen attended school there in the schoolhouse that her father had designed and built in 1915. At age nine she moved with her family to the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC where her father reestablished his design and construction business in the Washington metropolitan area. He suffered a debilitating stroke in 1944, requiring Kathleen to work after school to help support the family. Her part time sales job at Kann’s department store in DC eventually became permanent, and promotions followed until in 1953 she became a buyer of women’s clothes. Her stunning beauty also resulted in her employment as a part time model for some of the store’s clothing ads. Married in 1954, she turned her attention to raising her 3 children, standing in for her husband who travelled frequently, caring for her aging parents and keeping in touch with dozens of relatives on a regular basis, in-laws included. Kathleen also found time for her hobbies. She liked working with her hands, whether it be gardening or creating an oil painting or restoring old furniture. And she went into her work with gusto. Once, when she was having difficulty getting the finish off an old oak table, she rented an electric belt sander to facilitate the job. A neighbor came by to see how she was coming with the project and watched as the sander started up and shot across the tabletop with Kathleen hanging on behind it. Her spirit undiminished, she took a lesson in belt sanding and produced a beautiful coffee table as well as other pieces of furniture and works of art that now reside in her children’s and grandchildren’s homes. Later in life she enjoyed traveling, visiting England, Scotland, China and Japan as well as most of the 50 states. Kathleen is survived by her husband of 68 years, retired NASA executive, E. William Land, Jr.; her children, Gregory (Pamela) and Bradley (Margaret) Land and Karri (Raymond) Haseltine; her six grandchildren: Adaline (Travis) Emery, Jacob (Kelsey) Land, Susan (David) Singleton, Rachel Land, Sarah (Rafael) Terreri, Theodore (Elizabeth) Haseltine; her six great-grandchildren, Andrew, Wesley, Elizabeth and William Emery and Sophia and Michael Land. She was preceded in death by her sister, Ruby and her brothers, Robert, James and John Burcham. Family and friends are invited to celebrate Kathleen’s life on Saturday, July 15 from 12 to 3pm at the Friendship Hall at Ginger Cove, 4000 River Crescent Drive, Annapolis, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, PO Box 515, Northampton, MA 01061-0515. Online condolences may be made using the Memories tab on this page.