Kate Lee Harris Adams

Katherine Lee Harris Adams (September 5, 1919 – December 2, 2002), also known as Kate Adams, was an American pilot who served in the Women Airforce Service Pilots during World War II. As a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, she was awarded veteran status in 1977. In 2009, she was posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal along with all other members of the service.

Early life and education Adams was born Katherine Lee Harris in Durham, North Carolina on September 5, 1919, to Arthur Miller Harris, a city councilman, and Kate Lee Hundley, a homemaker and former schoolteacher. She attended Duke University, where she graduated in 1941 with a degree in fine arts. Upon completion of the training program, she received a private pilot's license. In 1977, she and other members of the service were granted veteran status.

After her death, she and the other members of the Women Airforce Service Pilots were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their service during the war. They married and, after the end of World War II, moved to Kansas City, where they lived for eight years, followed by Houston, where they lived for fifty-four years. She was an active member of St. Mark's Episcopal Church. Following her husband's death in 1999, she moved back to Durham.

She went on vacation to China and was a member of one of the first tour groups to be allowed into the country under Communist rule.

Adams died on December 2, 2002, at Croasdaile Methodist Retirement Home in Durham. Her funeral was held at her childhood church, Trinity United Methodist Church. She was buried in Maplewood Cemetery.