Obituary of Nancy Kathan

Nancy Lee Kathan, 65, of Yeadan, PA, died suddenly at her home on March 31, 2019.  Nancy was born February 14, 1954 in New Haven CT, daughter of the Rev. Boardman Kathan and the late Joyce (Clark) Kathan.

She graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, and received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale University School of Drama.  After college, she worked with her father as membership secretary of the Religious Education Association in New Haven.  During the years after college, she also helped lead a feminist dramatic group, the Theatre of Light and Shadow.  The videos and transcripts of their program on “Women and Theatre” were donated to the archives of Smith College.    She also programmed a Woman in Film Night at Yale.

While at Yale School of Drama, she worked with the Yale Repertoire Theatre, producing new plays by people like Athol Fugard of South Africa and August Wilson of Pittsburgh, Pa.  With her MFA degree from Yale, Nancy served on the staff of Catamount Arts Center in St. Johnsbury, VT, was Director of the Charlestown Working Theatre in Boston, and was the managing director of the Orchestra New England in New Haven.

For the last thirty years, Nancy worked in Philadelphia with the Movement Theatre International, the University of the Arts, the Prince Music Theatre, and the Philadelphia Film Center.  She was the Executive Director of The ArtsBank, a state-of-the-art theatre on Broad Street in the city.

Besides her leadership in women’s issues and the arts, Nancy was a photographer, a graphic artist, a committed environmentalist, a film buff, a dog lover and a visitor for many years to Paris, France.

Nancy is survived by her father the Rev. Boardman W. Kathan of Prospect, a brother Dr. David W. Kathan of Somerset , MD, two nieces, Maura of Hyattsville, MD, and Abigail of Asheville, NC, two nephews, Joseph of Washington , DC and S. Tobias along with his wife, Dr. Katherine Howard Kathan of St. Paul, MN and their daughter, Celia, her adopted sister, Dr. Susan L. Chast of Yeadan, PA and other friends throughout the country.

A Memorial service will be held at the Philadelphia Film Center on Saturday, April 27, 2019 at 12:30 pm. A Committal Service will be held on Monday April 29, 2019 at 11 am at the Prospect Cemetery, Columbia Ave., Prospect. Prospect Memorial Funeral Home, 72 Waterbury Rd., Prospect is assisting the family with arrangements.

Memorial donations may be made to the Philadelphia Film Society, 1412 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19102 or The Boardman Foundation, of which she was the secretary, 229 Cheshire Rd. Prospect, CT 06712.