Middletown Springs - Middletown Springs - Kathleen Mary Doyle (62) died at her home in Middletown Springs, Vermont, on July 11, 2025, brought to rest by brain cancer, leaving summer morning dew, and Yellowthroats and Ovenbirds in the back woods where she was in her element, reminding us of life beyond the family and friends she loved.

Born March 8, 1963, in Newburyport, Massachusetts, she was the third of four children of Eleanor May (Griffith, 94 of North Andover, Massachusetts) and Hugh Joseph Doyle. She reportedly cared for as many as 17 dolls at once as a young girl and brought the same attention and joy to raising two boys later in life.

A graduate of Newburyport High School (1981), she went on to study Natural Resource Management at Cornell University (B.S.,1986), including senior research on subalpine heathlands in the Mahoosucs of Maine. After college, Kathy worked for The Nature Conservancy in North Carolina and did graduate research at the University of Wyoming on plant succession following fire in Grand Teton ecosystems (M.S. Botany, 1994; PhD Botany 1997). Moving to Vermont in 1997, she brought a systems-based approach to her biology classrooms and conservation work – teaching on the faculty of Green Mountain and Middlebury Colleges, serving as a local environmental consultant, and organizing nature camps to inspire the next generation of land stewards.

Her three siblings and their families remained close – Anne (Jim, Chris, and Corey Stock), JD, and Sue (Pete, Turner, and Zachary Britz). High school friends strengthened bonds over time, and college and graduate school friends continued to enrich her life. During college years Kathy lived for a few months with Swedish farmers Birgit and Lars Nilsson, who became like family. In Chapel Hill, fellow plant ecologist and sweetheart Jim Graves brought Kathy wild grapes and followed her to Wyoming where they were married under the care of Wyoming Friends meeting on September 30, 1995. They raised sons, John (born 1999) and Daniel (born 2002) among friends and flying baseballs in Middletown Springs.

A service will be held July 19th at 1pm in the Pawlet Community Church (UCC), Pawlet, VT. Memorial contributions may be made to the Vermont Natural Resources Council, 11 Baldwin St., Montpelier, VT 05602 or to the Northeast Wilderness Trust, 17 State St., #302, Montpelier, VT 05602, two organizations Kathy valued for the way they apply science to keep species and ecosystems healthy in both working and wild landscapes.

Tossing Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.