Kathleen A. Ambuster

Kathleen Ann Wimber Ambuster died on March 10, 2021 in Elgin, Texas after a progressive illness that eventually limited her capacity to act and to travel, but not her ability to be herself, and to connect to the extended family and friends who survive her, including her husband, Randy Ambsuter; her sister, Mary Wray Brooks of Dallas, Texas; her nieces, Suzan Baggs of Stafford, Texas and Denise Wray of Idaho Falls, Idaho; and nine cousins.

Kathy was born in Casper, Wyoming on January 24, 1955. Through her father’s employment as a geophysicist with Mobile Oil Company, the family of six lived in Wyoming, North Dakota, and Montana. Mobil then transferred them to international locations:  Bogota, Colombia; Tripoli, Libya; Melbourne, Australia; and Caracas, Venezuela. After living overseas from age six through high school graduation and experiencing worldwide travel, she briefly attended college in Madison, South Dakota and in Houston, Texas.

An animal lover and avid horsewoman, she owned several horses during her lifetime as well as dogs. In Tripoli, her big sister, Mary, not the experienced rider Kathy was, asked to ride the horse and jump a fence for the first time. Kathy agreed. Horse and rider jumped over the fence together, but the rider immediately flew out of the saddle on the other side, straight over the horse’s head. She landed on her feet, facing the horse with reins still in hand. The two sisters did not confess this potentially dangerous escapade to the folks until many decades later. It is memories like this, showing Kathy’s confidence, trust, and joy in life that will stay with us.

Kathy inherited artistic genes from her mother, but it was Kathy who created commissioned artworks in pastels and pencil of many clients’ horses and dogs. Her artwork production was most notable for her skill in depicting the subjects with such detail of color and lighting that the finished works looked exactly like the individual animal the owner wanted to commemorate. A gift for portrait that not many have. Using experience during her previous ownership of a framing shop, she also matted and framed the artworks. She was generous, curious, and a good listener with a delightful sense of humor. An outgoing personality enabled her to make new friends wherever she went.

Kathy lost her brother, Alan Wray, and an aunt in 2020; she lost her mother, Mary Davis Wray Wimber, in 2017. Her father, Max Wimber, brother, Stan Wray, an aunt, and both sets of grandparents died many years ago.

Her husband, Randy, her sister, Mary Brooks, her extended family, and her friends will deeply miss her and those qualities that made her easy to love. In all the years of life and its invariable losses, she was accompanied and cherished through the whole journey by her husband, Randy Ambuster, since their marriage in 1980.

Donations in Kathy’s memory to the American Liver Foundation would be greatly appreciated.