Kitty Alderson

Our mother was born on Paint Creek a small mining community in southern West Virginia. Her parents were Reid and Thelma Hall. Reid was a coal miner who later moved to Ypsilanti Michigan where he and his wife ran the post office at Eastern Michigan University.

She had one sibling, Bette McLaughlin who was two years older. Earlier on, her parents moved the family to Chesapeake near Charleston. During her years there Kitty was active in church, sang in the choir and was well liked by her peers. She graduated from East Bank High School. While at East Bank, she met and fell in love with James Settle. They married and one year later had one son, Mark Allen Settle.

Kitty took her role as a parent seriously and it wasn’t long before she was riding the bus down McCorkle Avenue from Chesapeake to downtown Charleston where she worked as a legal secretary. Kitty was always a hard worker and always made sacrifices to provide for her family. The marriage ended in divorce, but she and Jimmy remained on amicable terms for years to come.

While attending a Charleston Rockets game, Kitty met Stratton Douthat. They were married a short time later and had two children. A few months later, the family moved south to Miami Florida.

Five years later they moved back to West Virginia and settled in Huntington. Once there, she went to work again as a legal secretary and worked for several law firms in Huntington before joining Ashland Oil and later Ashland Coal. She taught her children the value of hard work and perseverance and was a good provider. She loved Christmas and there was never a year that many presents were not piled around the tree. This marriage also ended but both parties remained actively involved in their children’s lives.

Kitty always reinvented herself and her passion for life always moved her forward. While living in Huntington, she met and fell in love with James G. Alderson. “Jim” preceded her in death in 2020. He had two sons, Thomas and Tracy. Kitty and Jim were married for 35 years and resided in Barboursville at the time of Jim’s death.

Kitty is survived by her sons: Mark of Juno Beach Florida, Christopher of Columbus Ohio, Stratton II of Nashville Tennessee; and her sister Bette. In addition, she is survived by three grandchildren: Tyler Settle, Michael Settle and Emmaleah Rumbaugh.

The one thing Kitty always stressed was the importance of family. Whenever hard times fell on a family member Kitty would not say YOU will make it through this situation, she would say WE will make it through this situation. She was a great cook and loved to feed her family. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her and loved her. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.