MARY KATHLEEN " Katie " DeLUCA, 90, of Memphis, died June 2, 2006 at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis. Mrs. DeLuca received her BSN from The University of Tennessee in 1940 and was the head of Obstetrics at John Gaston Hospital. Katie formed the very first LPN training program in Memphis. She trained the nursing corps for the British War Effort and received the British War pin for her great contributions. She was offered a position as head of the nursing corps in England and declined the offer because of her teaching duties here, much to the relief of her family, because most of the team she would have been with was killed in the London bombing. She had a vibrant personality and a myriad of interests. She loved genealogy and delighted in tracing her family tree. Her efforts traced it all the way back to George Washington, Isham G. Harris who was the first governor of TN, William Travis who died at the Alamo and Wyatt Earp. She had a great love of animals, and proved this by raising and showing poodles in conformation and obedience for over 30 years. Katie and her dear friend, Sally Banks, opened a grooming service and called it " Katie 's K-9's". Katie enjoyed attending wrestling and boxing matches and loved meeting and having her picture made with the boxers. An ongoing joke Katie had with her friends and family as to why she had lived so long was that "God didn't want her yet, and neither did the devil because he was afraid she would take his job!" She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Vincent J. DeLuca; a brother, Forrest Lee Jinkins; a sister, Louise Jinkins; a daughter, Carmen Barker, and a grandson, Naveen "Scott" Pejaver. Survivors include a sister, Robbie Verselle Forrester of Martin, TN: daughters, Linda Pejaver and Donna Dahler, both of Memphis; a son, Joseph E. DeLuca of Coldwater, MS; four grandchildren, Dawn Raymond, Rebecca Benham, Will Nourse and Meera Pejaver; four great-grandchildren, Michael Benham, Mary Benham, Katie Raymond and Samantha Winans, and several nieces and nephews. Funeral services for Mrs. DeLuca will be held 11 a.m. Monday, June 5 at St. Ann of Bartlett. A private burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday, June 4 from 4-6 p.m. at Memorial Park Funeral Home. The family asks that memorials be made to the Porter Leath Children's Center of Memphis, the American Cancer Society or the Memphis Humane Society. Memorial Park Funeral Home (Published in The Commercial Appeal 6/4/2006)