Patricia Kay “Kitty” Braley

April 23, 1947-January 22, 2025

Patricia Kay “Kitty” Braley, a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, earned her angel wings and entered eternal life on January 22, 2025.

Kitty was born in Lockhart, Texas on April 23, 1947 to Jack and Hazel Robertson, the second of four children. She was a third-generation lifelong resident of Lockhart and attended Lockhart schools. She was a Lockhart Lion cheerleader throughout her junior high and high school years and met her sweetheart in high school, a football player named David. They married on December 8, 1963. Kitty and David celebrated 57 years together until his passing in January 2021.

Kitty and David started their new life together and welcomed David Jr. in 1964, Wendi in 1968, and Colin in 1970. She was a stay-at-home mom until 1973 when she decided to follow her dream of teaching. She attended Southwest Texas State University and graduated in May of 1977. She was immediately hired into Lockhart ISD and taught in the district from September 1977 until her retirement in May 2002. Her teaching career started at Lockhart Junior High School where she taught Health and was the coach for all girls eighth-grade athletics. She eventually left coaching behind and focused on teaching math.

Kitty made the move to Plum Creek Elementary School in September 1992 and began teaching third grade. While at Plum Creek she taught 3rd, 4th, and finally fifth grade until she retired in 2002. Teaching was Kitty’s passion, and she brought outside-the-box innovations to the table. Her vision of starting the Plum Creek Garden allowed teachers to use it as a teaching tool for their students. The students learned about planting a garden, caring for it, and harvesting fresh fruits and vegetables. After the harvest they even got to eat the vegetables. For several years she built a large cage to instruct students about the migration of the monarch butterflies. She would get the monarch caterpillars from TPWD, and the students were able to watch the various stages until they developed into beautiful butterflies. During a special ceremony, the students would watch as the butterflies were released and began their journey. She also taught her students the importance of conservation and recycling, building her lessons around creative art projects and practical uses. While teaching both junior high and elementary she helped her students make a class quilt using the construction of the quilt squares to teach math and geometry. Kitty dearly loved her students and was passionate about their education.   Hopefully, some of her former students will remember something special about her and her teachings, just as most of us do about a specific teacher in our lives.

Kitty is affectionately known as “Grammy” in her family, and she was always just as enthusiastic about her family as she was her school kids. She was always 100% behind all her children’s endeavors and was active in the athletic booster club, the Caldwell County Stock Show Booster Club, and all things 4-H related. She was always the first one to say, “you can do this,” and that was occasionally followed by “and you will do it.”

Kitty is preceded in death by her parents, her sweetheart David, grandson Cody Stanley, and brother John Robertson.

Kitty is survived by her children David Jr. (Stephanie), Wendi Stanley (Bob), and Colin;  grandchildren Cade Stanley (Jayme), Maggie Svejda (Frank), David “Trace” Braley III (Kendall), Dallas Alley (Dale), Anthony Rodriguez (Katherine), Jacqueline Braley, and Zachary Braley; great-grandchildren Shane Lightner, Whitney Svejda, Cody Stanley, Jolee Svejda, Blake Stanley, Cora Broughton, Asher Alley, Aubrey Alley, Brody Braley, Tatum Braley, Kaiden Rodriguez, Alister Rodriguez, and baby girl (to be) Svejda; sisters Alison Dollar and Jackie Zimmerman; nieces Tammy Walker (Chris) and Lauren Smith, nephew Michael Dollar, and many long time wonderful friends.

Services will be held on February 15, 2025, at McCurdy Funeral Home. The family will receive friends at 1 pm with a memorial service at 2 pm. Burial at Clark’s Chapel Cemetery will immediately follow the service.

We all want to thank you for your commitment to both the community of Lockhart and to the education of our children. You will be deeply missed but your memory and the legacy you created will live on.