Abraham, Katherine 1922–2005

(Katy Abraham)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born May 1, 1922, in Wayland, NY; died May 24, 2005, in Naples, NY. Broadcaster, gardener, and author. Along with her husband George, Abraham was well known for hosting a popular gardening radio program for five decades called The Green Thumb. After marrying her husband in 1942—after which he left to serve in the U.S. Army—she completed her bachelor's degree at Cornell University. In 1947, not long after George Abraham returned from the war, the couple began their own landscaping business and florist shop called Naples Valley Greenhouses. Their extensive knowledge of horticulture led to their career as co-hosts for The Green Thumb, a radio program that first aired on WHAM-Radio in Rochester, New York, in 1952. On air and in her writings, Abraham was known as "Katy," and her husband was called "Doc." The couple's perky personalities and down-home style endeared them to their audiences, and the show remained popular until 2002, when age and ill health—she suffered from Alzheimer's disease and he had a bad heart—forced them to retire. In addition to their program, the Abrahams produced "The Green Thumb" syndicated column that appeared in over one hundred newspapers, and they penned many books on gardening. Among their coauthored works are Raise Vegetables without a Garden (1974), The Green Thumb Book of Indoor Gardening (1982), and Green Thumb Wisdom (1996).

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PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2005, p. B15.