Katharine J. Nordstrom; Donor to Charities, Widow of Firm Co-Chairman

Katharine J. Nordstrom, 89, philanthropist and widow of a former Nordstrom Co. co-chairman. The nationwide Nordstrom apparel store chain grew from a Seattle shoe store founded in 1901 by John Nordstrom, Katharine’s father-in-law. She met her late husband, the founder’s son Elmer, when both were children and the two families had summer homes on Hood Canal. They married in 1934, shortly after he started in the family business, and were together 59 years until his death in 1993. Although Katharine was never on the Nordstrom payroll, she was known throughout the company for helping to build the business. During the Depression when the Nordstroms almost lost the business, she went to the store and did the windows or any other helpful task. The physician’s daughter, a lifelong Seattle resident, directed her philanthropy toward that city’s Swedish Hospital (founded by her father), the Northwest Oncology Foundation, Planned Parenthood, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and Harmony Hill, a Hood Canal wellness center. Five years ago, she also funded an ecumenical elementary school at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, Calif., where she had a vacation home. The school was named the Katharine Nordstrom Campus in her honor. On Friday in Seattle.