Roll Call Tribute

Kathleen M. "Kathy" (Brown) Bilnoski 

September 18, 1954 - February 24, 2026 

Kathleen “Kathy” Brown Bilnoski, ended her journey on Earth and went home to Our Lord on Tuesday, the 24th of February, 2026. She was 71 years old and had spent the past 17 years in Bryan, TX. She was born on September 18, 1954. Kathy is survived and her company is deeply missed by her husband of 50 years, James L. “Jim” Bilnoski, Jr., her sons James “Jim” L. Bilnoski, III (Catherine) of Tacoma, WA and Paul (Crystal), and grandchildren, Elizabeth, Peter, Caleb, Faith, and Mary Bilnoski of Bryan, TX. Kathy was preceded in death by her parents, Paul A. and Mary K. Brown of Houston, TX.

Kathy was born in Houston, TX, and as an only child quickly became the target of affection from her parents. In her childhood she greatly enjoyed the outdoors and water activities, and throughout her life was quick to develop friendships and a lover of animals. She especially loved dogs and had numerous pets over the years. Kathy was quick to make friends her whole life with strangers, and talked so much from a young age she closely resembled the “Chatty Kathy” doll which was popular in her youth. She attended St. Agnes Academy in Houston and met her future husband, Jim, who attended the nearby Strake Jesuit College Preparatory. Kathy’s love of both Jim and animals led her to Texas A&M University to study veterinary science, though she would complete her studies in the emerging field of Computing Science and also in Accounting, which reinforced her enjoyment with mathematics.

Kathy and Jim were married on May 17, 1975, and soon after enjoyed the life of a young army officer’s wife, traveling to training and duty posts, accompanied by a golden retriever. They spent several years at Fort Bragg in North Carolina where they welcomed the birth of their first son, Jim. They returned to Houston where their second son, Paul, was born. Kathy helped with bookkeeping and many other tasks for her father’s business before the career that many knew her for, which was teaching high school level math and computer science.

Kathy enjoyed teaching all high-school math, Algebra and Trigonometry the most. She taught in the Houston, TX area at Westbury High School and then Robert E. Lee High School before teaching at Incarnate Word Academy until her retirement. In those years she had many “kids” whom she helped in more than just math. She was able to keep effective disciplinary control in her classrooms, and her students knew she meant business and excelled due to it. She invested as many if not more hours outside of classroom time as inside, assisting with tutoring or attending athletic events or helping her students wherever she could. One of her students, Stephanie Williams, had a deep relationship with Kathy that lasted throughout her life, up until her death. Stephanie became the daughter Kathy never had.

Kathy became aware of the needs of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and similar places when her own mother was in need of a residence for assisted living and Kathy did research and site visits. Never one to pass up an opportunity to help, nor a stranger to talking on the phone or paperwork, she became involved in multiple pet therapy groups. She worked to coordinate visits to various facilities by volunteers, coordinating training and certification for the animals and herself, getting her own pet dogs trained and acclimated to the work.

After Kathy’s retirement, followed by that of her husband Jim, they moved to Bryan, TX to be nearer their grandchildren and alma mater, Texas A&M University, which was beloved by them both. Kathy continued coordinating by phone and doing necessary paperwork for several years for her pet therapy groups. Her final years were filled with many phone calls with friends, playing with her last faithful pet companions, and frequent visits with her grandchildren.