Kat Maxwell, of “Jane and Kat” Duo, Is Dead
On and Off the Streets, Kat and Jane Were Inseparable
Katherine “Kat” Maxwell, the diminutive half of the “Jane and Kat” twosome—a homeless couple who panhandled regularly on Lower Milpas Street—died Thursday, April 7th, in El Paso, Texas. She and her partner Jane Makrianes had been traveling by train to Fort Worth to visit Maxwell’s children when she suffered a seizure. Though she received treatment in an El Paso hospital, Maxwell died in a motel the following day. The immediate cause is unknown, but the effects of alcoholism are likely to have been a factor.
Makrianes arrived back in Santa Barbara Monday, April 11, to an ocean of condolences and the reality of her loss. Sitting on a bed in an Upper State Street motel, she attempted a brave front.
“She was my life,” said Makrianes, crying.
The two were connected at the hip. They met t10 years ago at Casa Esperanza. Maxwell’s personality, her dry wit and patience, drew Makrianes to her and within a month they were pretty much inseparable. To read more, see homelessinsb.org.
