In Honor of Katie
We honor Katie to inspire us to do more for others.
Katherine Dolores “Katie” Much died at home on Sunday, October 8, 2023, of a drug overdose.
Katie was born and raised in Wilmington, Delaware. She attended Wilmington Friends School where she excelled academically and lettered in three varsity sports – soccer, basketball, and field hockey. Katie was very musically inclined with a beautiful singing voice. She never missed an opportunity to sing and perform. Katie was a very sociable person who spent her childhood surrounded by friends and family. Upon high school graduation, Katie attended the University of Delaware where she earned her BA in political science with a minor in legal studies and was a member of Delta Phi Sorority. She walked onto the women’s cross country team. Katie also spent a summer abroad in Italy, a place she hoped to visit again one day. Following college, Katie spent a year with the AmeriCorps Vista Program, working on women’s reentry issues through the Office of Defense Services. Katie’s research culminated in a scholarly presentation to the legal, political and corrections communities.
Katie then relocated to Key West to work in the hospitality industry. While she excelled in this work and quickly learned all facets of restaurant operations, she succumbed to drinking and drug use. Over the next ten years, Katie worked in various restaurant establishments in Delaware and had periods of sobriety assisted by her attendance at various treatment programs throughout the country. Despite her many years of substance abuse treatment and participation in the recovery community, Katie struggled to find serenity in her life.
In the Spring of 2022, Katie became pregnant while living in a halfway house in Baltimore, MD. She embraced this unexpected gift and worked diligently to remain focused on her sobriety and her child. When Lilli was born, Lilli was enthusiastically welcomed into this world by Katie; Lilli’s maternal grandparents, Mary and Mandell; and Lilli’s birth father, Eric Ungar.
Katie was an attentive and loving mother, taking pride in making the best life for Lilli. Katie enrolled in the Widener University Paralegal Certificate Program and excelled in her studies. Katie recently returned to the Office of Defense Services as a Legal Assistant to Superior Court public defenders. She was excited to be back at ODS, and was very proud of her new position. Katie enjoyed the work, and raved about her coworkers and supervisor. She felt like she had finally found her niche and was considering a law degree in the future.
We will never know how far Katie could have gone. She left her family and her community too soon. Katie may be remembered by each of us in a different way; however, she will certainly be remembered as intelligent, talented, determined, beautiful, and committed. Her legacy will live on in Lilliana, who is an equally intelligent, curious, friendly, inquisitive, beautiful child.
Honor Katie to save your loved one's life
Early Intervention
Early Intervention: If you are a parent and have some inclination that your child is using alcohol or other drugs, you should consider doing an early intervention and have a professional assessment done. This will help bring clarity to your particular situation.
Monitoring
If you as the parent do not want to monitor your child, you should hire an interventionist to do so. You can also reach out to the local AA community and have a sponsor go through our Intervention Download and begin to MONITOR your loved one. Someone needs to keep an eye on your child every week or at least once-a-month. The Monitoring program will allow you to have a better understanding of what the struggles your child is going through at this time.
Prevent a Drug Overdose
Put a plan in place for your child who is using alcohol or other drugs to have some “life-lines” that they can reach out to if their struggle increases. Over 79,000 people die every year from a drug overdose.
Narcan Medication
Parents and loved ones of the person who is using will have to learn more about some of the early intervention strategies. Also, it is a good idea to have some Narcan on hand in case the situation requires it.