Kimberly Mae Fitzmorgan (née Morgan), age 58 of Philomath, Oregon, passed away on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, after a long battle with cancer.
Kimber was born October 23, 1966, in Pensacola, Florida, but she grew up in Boston and was a New Englander through and through. She attended Wesleyan University, where she majored in sociology. Kimber married Stephen Fitzmorgan (née Fitzgerald) in 1998. They separated and later divorced in 2019 but stayed in touch as friends.
Kimber worked for many years in IT validation for Gilead Sciences to ensure the security of its information technology systems. She was proud to be part of a company that developed innovative treatments for illnesses. After retiring early, Kimber lived abroad, helping people in Mongolia and Vietnam establish and maintain small, independent businesses. Her travels also took her to China, India, and Nepal. When she returned to live full-time in the United States, she resided and worked at a Buddhist education center in Massachusetts. She left the East Coast and moved to Oregon to be with close friends, Dionisia Morales and Stefan Seiter, for the last years of her life.
As a painter and voracious reader, Kimber was always on the hunt for beauty, knowledge and understanding. She was an avid rock climber and had many adventures on the granite slabs in Quincy Quarries. She loved meeting new people and learning about their journey in life. She had rich connections with pen pals from around the world, people who came to know her through the patient exchange of letters. She loved to laugh and had a quick wit. In the last year of her life, she converted to Catholicism and cherished building community and a spiritual home with the congregation of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Corvallis, Oregon. She was grateful for Father Lucas Laborde’s care and devotional guidance.
Remaining to cherish Kimber’s memory are her parents, Roy and Gail Morgan; sister, Darcy Morgan; and her aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews. Countless friends mourn her loss and will remember her dearly.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, at 11 a.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 501 NW 25th St., in Corvallis, with Father Lucas Laborde officiating. Interment will follow and Kimber will be laid to rest at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, also in Corvallis.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the “St. John’s Society” and sent in care of St Mary’s Catholic Church, 501 NW 25th St., Corvallis, OR 97330.