Catherine 'Katie' Mary Richardson

Catherine "Katie" Bax Richardson, 52, passed away March 21, 2020 in Ft. Worth, TX. Born August 13, 1967 in Kansas City, MO to Thomas E. and Elinor Bax. Katie was a graduate of St. Elizabeth Grade School, St. Teresas Academy, Texas Christian University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Law School. At TCU, she was President of her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. In law school, she was a member of Delta Sigma Phi law fraternity and won the National finals in the Giles Rich Patent Moot Court competition in 1993. After graduation, Katie started her career as an intellectual property litigator (complex chemical patents) at Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier, and Neustadt in Washington, DC. She quickly rose to level of partner, which she enjoyed for many years. In 2007, she retired from the full-time practice of law to be a full-time mother. At the time of her death she was still working part-time in law, teaching an on-line patent law course at Northcentral University.
Katie and her family moved several times in her adult life spending 11 years in DC, 3 years in Kansas City, 5 years in Chicago and the last 8 years in Southlake, Texas. Katie made an indelible mark at each stop along the way. Katie was an avid competitive tennis player, loved to travel, loved to play bar room trivia. Katie volunteered her time, talent and treasure with various charities usually involving children or womens shelters. However, most of all she loved to spend time with friends, family, and her cat (Jeffrey Cloud). She certainly had a sense of humor.
Katie had Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs, pancreas and other organs. The disease is a kid killer. When she was diagnosed at age 3, the life expectancy was only in the early teens. However, Katie was always a fighter. Katie refused to be defined by the disease or beaten by it. She was frequently an advocate for others with CF speaking to legislators on Capitol Hill, being interviewed in Redbook and on National Public Radio, and being a public speaker at various CF events. She frequently spoke with parents of CF children as an example of how their children could have a full life in spite of the disease. She made up her mind to beat CF back and she did her entire life. While Katie may have lost her battle with cancer, she never lost her battle with CF.
Katie, who was an avid Jimmy Buffett fan, summed up her own life with this verse "Some of its magic, some of its tragic, but I had a good life all the way."
Katie was preceded in death by her mother, Elinor Bax; her younger sister, Janet Bax. She is survived by her husband, Terry Richardson; children, Judson Thomas, Maximillian Xavier and Samuel Joseph Richardson; her father, Thomas E. Bax.
Private services are to be determined. Interment will be at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Kansas City, MO. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at https://www.cff.org/give-today/.
Private Family Funeral