Catherine Yannone Obituary

CATHERINE "KITTY" YANNONE 1954 2023 Catherine "Kitty" Yannone passed away on June 2, 2023, at the age of 69, surrounded by her family. She was born in Los Angeles, California on March 11, 1954. Her family moved to Victorville, a small desert town in the Mojave Desert in 1966. At age 16, she spent a semester at the University of Riverside and was accepted to the school the following summer. There she met her first husband who was from Hawai'i. They moved to the Islands in 1976 where she attended the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and earned a bachelor's degree in English literature. She fell in love with the Islands and passionately called Hawai'i home until her death. Kitty planned on attending law school, but her youngest son Kalin was hospitalized with spinal meningitis at 11 months of age at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children. There she met parents from the neighbor islands who could not afford to stay at a hotel during their children's lengthy illness. That circumstance set Kitty on a course that would lead to her helping to coordinate a community effort to establish Hawai'i's first Ronald McDonald House, and in the process would launch her 37-year career as one of the state's leading communications professionals and community leaders. In the years to follow, Kitty did whatever it took to get the Ronald McDonald House up and running from helping to find a suitable house in the Judd Hillside area in Manoa, to fundraising and community relations. Her work on the Ronald McDonald House as a founding board member and its first executive director led to her being offered a job by Communications-Pacific, which had been hired to help with public relations while the Manoa home was being developed. She briefly left the company in 1994, to pursue her entrepreneurial interests, including becoming a principal founder of Hawaii Online, the state's largest Internet provider at the time. During this time, she also served as vice president of the Kapi'olani Health Foundation. The public relations sector lured Kitty back, and she returned to the agency which was then known as Hill and Knowlton Hawai'i, part of the worldwide Hill and Knowlton public relations firm. In 1998 she purchased the firm and reinstated the original name of the company Communications-Pacific and provided outstanding counsel and service to a "who's who" of Hawai'i's top companies and organizations. Over the next 25 years, she became involved in some of the state's most challenging and controversial issues. Kitty had a deep passion for volunteering, nonprofit work and fundraising. Over the years, she received numerous awards and accolades for her business acumen and her commitment to serving the community. While she had a strong appreciation for the high-profile life she led as a business and community leader, the titles of mom, tutu, and friend were the roles she cherished the most. Kitty is survived by her mother Lorraine Yannone; sons Chad Dudley and Kalin Dudley (Melanie); five grandchildren; brothers Steven Yannone and Alex Yannone; and sister Judy Ferguson. She was predeceased by her father Mike Yannone. A Celebration of Life will be held July 28, 2023, at Central Union Church with visitation at 1:00 p.m., followed by 2:00 p.m. service and a reception at 3:00 p.m. The family asks in lieu of flowers, gifts, and remembrances, please consider a contribution to support Central Union Church, Assets School, American Red Cross, Ronald McDonald House, and Diamond Head Theatre.