Former board member, committee chair, familiar Club presence Katherine Turpin, 67, dies

Katherine "Kaky" Turpin, 67, a National Press Club Silver Owl, past board member, House and Bar committee chair and energetic volunteer in many other Club activities, passed away May 7 after an extended illness.

Kaky, who took her advanced degree in Russian history from Georgetown and George Washington universities, made her career with the U.S. Information Agency after graduation. In the mid-1980s, she was assigned to USIA's Foreign Press Center in the National Press Building and soon became a valued friend, confidant and professional guide to countless foreign correspondents trying to cut through red tape and gain access to news sources in a town that often puts foreign journalists at the back of the line.

In 1986, Kaky joined the Club and never looked back. Until her retirement in 2003, her office was just an elevator ride away from the Club, and Kaky continued to be an active and enthusiastic Club member until her final illness.

A familiar presence at the Reliable Source, she was popular with both members and staff, many of whom came to consider Kaky not just as a friend, but as "family." While she could hold her own in an argument and never pretended to suffer fools gladly, Kaky was always there for fellow members during illnesses or other troubles and was always fun to be with.

Above all, she loved her friends, a good joke, red wine, almost anything expensive, and her graduate school sweetheart and husband of 40 years, Giorgio Gnugnoli, not necessarily in that order.

Although Kaky would probably have preferred something simpler and more more intimate -- a small gathering of friends and a few members of the royal family at Westminster Abbey comes to mind -- there will be a memorial service at the Club where everyone who enjoyed her company and remembers her fondly can join in celebrating her life. Date and time will be announced in a future number of the Wire. Meanwhile, in lieu of flowers, friends can make contributions in Kaky's name to Planned Parenthood or any non-kill animal shelter.