Mary Katherine Durant

Mary Katherine (“Katherine”) Durant, age 63, of the Atlanta area (Stone Mountain), passed away on Saturday, November 11, 2017, after a short illness. She was born to the late Lewis Durant and Sybil Murphy Durant on August 31, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama. Katherine lived in Atlanta since just before she was 14 years old, attending and graduating from Henderson High School before attending the University of Georgia for her BFA in Art and Design and later Mercer University, Walter F. George School of Law, for her JD where she finished Magna Cum Laude and was Editor of the Eleventh Circuit Survey edition of the Mercer Law Review. After having big firm (Long, Aldridge & Norman) and boutique private practice experience, she took a position with the Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia, serving as both an elbow clerk to the Hon. Dorothy T. Beasley and then as a Central Staff Attorney. After 13 years with the Court of Appeals, she opened her own firm and practiced under the name of Durant Law LLC, specializing in appellate and motions practice. In her career as an attorney, she earned much respect and appreciation from her colleagues and clients. Katherine was a person of many talents. Aside from her primary work as an appeals attorney, she was an artist (painting and drawing mostly but some sculpture), and she had a passion for singing as well, entertaining her many friends for her 50th birthday celebration by singing an entire concert for them at the Oglethorpe University’s Conant Performing Arts Center. She also sang and played the guitar and ukulele. She always had a ready smile and sparkles in her eyes, and she was always making others laugh with her. Katherine was a member of the Vedanta Center in Tucker and the Diamond Approach Atlanta Group in Sandy Springs. She loved spending time with her many friends and with her life partner, Tom, and her cat, Ollie. Katherine is survived by her life partner Thomas Carr in Stone Mountain, GA; her older brother Richard Lewis Durant and his wife Brenda Fay Rednour Durant of Redlands, CA; her younger brother David Zell Durant and his wife Rita Anne O’Laughlin Durant of Mobile, AL; her nephews Richard Lewis Durant, Jr. of Riverside, CA; Micah Zell Durant of Mobile, AL; Luke David Durant of San Jose, CA; Bradley John Durant and his wife Rebecca Joy Mondich Durant of Ventura, CA; William Mark Durant of Long Beach, MS; and her niece Sharon Diane Durant of San Luis Obispo, CA. She also leaves behind numerous loving relatives and good friends. She was a special human being and very genuine; she will be greatly missed by everyone she knew. There will be a memorial service/celebration of her life on Saturday, December 9, 2017 at the Atlanta Friends Meeting (701 West Howard Avenue, Decatur, GA 30030) at 2:00 pm. She is being cremated. The family suggests memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be made in her honor to either: • Georgia Justice Project “In memory of Katherine Durant” (https://www.gjp.org/ways-to-support/donations/); or Georgia Justice Project, Attention: Development Dept., 438 Edgewood Avenue SE, Atlanta, GA 30312). GJP promotes innovative change through direct legal representation, policy advocacy, education, and coalition building. OR • SEVA Foundation (www.seva.org), an international organization devoted to preserving and restoring sight.