Catherine "Katie" Amatruda, 72, died peacefully on May 21, 2026 surrounded by loved ones in San Rafael, California, following a heroic battle with myasthenia gravis. She was born on May 11, 1954, in New Haven CT to Thomas Tarcisio Amatruda Jr. and Barbara Colety Amatruda.  Katie was a Licensed Family Therapist for over 30 years with a private practice in Marin County, CA. She received a BA from UC Berkeley, an MA from John F. Kennedy University, and a PsyD degree from Ryokan College.  She did her sandplay training with Dora Kalff in Zollikon, Switzerland, was a founding member of Sandplay Therapists of America and a published author. 

As a compassionate expert in traumatic stress, she provided disaster relief locally, nationally, and internationally, focusing on children and assisting responders in self-care. In this role, she worked in Haiti, Southeast Asia and American Samoa following earthquakes and tsunamis, and provided relief after Hurricanes Katrina, Gustav and Ike, tornadoes in Florida, the wildfires in San Diego, and many local disasters. Her appointments included positions in the Marin Medical Reserve Corps, the American Red Cross and Disaster Medical Assistance Team DMAT CA-6.

Katie lived life exuberantly.  She traveled extensively for work and pleasure.  An accomplished life-long artist, she decorated her beloved houseboat with beautiful paintings, collages and sculptures. Every morning she woke early to see the sunrise over the water, listening to a specially curated soundtrack of joyful songs.  She always had time for friends and celebrations and lit up every room she walked into.  She was preceded in death by her parents, sister-in-law Lynne Morishita, and brother-in-law Charles Howell. She is survived by many heartbroken friends and family members including her son Colety Kaltschmidt (Jaime Barnhart), stepchildren Evan Kaltschmidt (Erin) and Kira Marzec (Chad Livengood), grandchildren Emma, Eyan, Henry, and Madison, siblings Tom Amatruda (Judy Axelrod), Chris Amatruda (Eb Luckel), Liz Howell, and Jim Amatruda (Lisa Pon), nieces, nephews, her cat Kiri, numerous friends and colleagues, and the Sausalito houseboat community. A celebration of her life will be scheduled at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America. Meanwhile, please drink a toast to Katie and her fellow warriors, allies, lovers, artists, and mermaids.