Kathleen Ann Carie of Mercer Island, Washington passed away at the age of 72 on April 2nd, 2022 following major heart surgery.

Kathleen was born to Joseph and Mary Carie on March 24, 1950 in Fairbanks, Alaska. She left Alaska after high school to seek her fortune in Seattle and went on to earn her Bachelor in Health Information Services from Seattle University in 1975.

Soon after completing college, she began a successful career in the restaurant business working for Mick McHugh and Tim Firnstahl, helping to run their iconic Seattle restaurants FX McRory’s and Jake O’Shaughnessy’s. There weren’t many women restaurant managers at that time, early in her career she was often approached by patrons who would ask to “speak to the man who runs the restaurant.” According to an article written about her in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer in 1983 she “would suffer such indignities with her best smile, since a restaurant is where the customer is almost always right.” In truth McRory’s was “clearly the realm of Ms. Carie, its 32-year-old manager. She is the one who presides over a place that grosses $3 Million annually, more than any other restaurant in Seattle.” Her straightforward and no-nonsense approach combined with her great sense of humor served her well every St. Patrick’s Day when the restaurants cleared out all the tables and chairs and often had lines down the block by 11 am. Handling that kind of pandemonium with style and great humor was testament to her commitment to being damn good at her job. In tribute Kathleen’s image was captured in LeRoy Neiman’s famous FX McRory’s Whiskey Bar painting from 1980.

After taking a course called The Pursuit of Excellence in 1983 Ms. Carie made a career change. She was hired by Randy and Judy Revell to work with their personal and professional development company, which was then called Context Trainings Corporation. Her background in managerial skills were pivotal in the expansion of the company and for the next 25 years Kathleen’s magnetic energy and larger than life personality profoundly impacted thousands of people through her courses, workshops, and mentoring. She was passionate about helping folks to move forward, get great results and contribute to others. There was a framed letter in her office from The Revell’s that read “You are a commando with fashion and flair. You move in and the job gets done. Your laugh and your sense of integrity are the best weapons against paralysis and self-deceit that we’ve ever seen. You are a first-rate Captain and an outrageously well-loved personality.”

Over the last 10 years of her life Kathleen led an ongoing program called Accountability Circles and had a large Facebook group called The Magic with Kathleen Carie underlying her belief in the power of support and gratitude. She loved leading the way for others and she also worked hard to maintain a strong personal support network for herself and to let her people know how much she appreciated them.

She loved Sunday breakfast with the newspaper at the Roanoke, a good steak dinner, bright orange nail polish with lipstick to match, Louis Vuitton bags and jewelry that made a statement.

Of all the things that she will remembered for we treasured her lightness, her humor, and the hearty “Darling, how the hell are you?” with which she greeted the world.

Kathleen didn’t have children, she often said she’d just forgotten to have them! She did have her four beloved Bichon Frise fur babies, Michu, Bogart, Remy, and Lola, she called them the Killer Q-Tips. She is survived by brothers Joe (daughter Kelly Silva), Steve (spouse Kathy, daughter Allison) Larry and Andy, predeceased by her parents and her brother Mike. She also left behind a close-knit group of longtime friends who never stopped rooting for her…she was tremendously loved.

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Mercer Island Community Center at 2pm on June 4, 2022. Please RSVP to the Events section of this memorial site. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to help fund her celebration of life event.

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