Memories of Kathy

Every year for our birthdays, mom would ask us what kind of cake we wanted. Even though she knew the answer... ice cream cake. Always. But mom didn't always want to spend the extra money on ice cream cake. She tried so many different things, even tried making homemade ice cream cake a few times. It was pretty good, but not Dairy Queen level good! It ended up turning into a long running joke about her asking us what we wanted, knowing full well what we wanted, and then her not giving it to us anyways. Sometimes one of us, usually Scott, would get ice cream cake, but the other wouldn't. Then one year when it was her birthday coming up, I asked her what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday and without missing a beat Scott said, "Cause you're not getting it!", and we joked about getting her an Ice Cream cake for her birthday instead of what she wanted! But no, we couldn't be that mean, she got her banana cake like she wanted!! Even when she wasn't giving me what I wanted, she always knew how to make me feel loved on my birthday!

When she first saw me sneaking those dang toffee cookies at work and gave me a heard time. Then always made a point to mention there was fresh cookies on the second floor.

It took Kathy a while to figure out it was me messing with all of her little trinkets, she always figured it was one of the kids. One Christmas I was messing with the rosters and the trucks in the kitchen, you all know how those rosters love to drive the trucks. Well, I dropped one of those little buggers and his legs snapped clean on. I immediately shoved it in my purse and took it home to hopefully reattach so Jess and I could get it back before anyone noticed. Did it take me forever to fix it? Of course it did. But Kathy hadn't noticed it's absence. Naturally I had to make it weird. I had Jessie put the roster in John and Kathy's mail box. Silence. We heard nothing more about this bird. Until we got home and the roster was in our mail box. That cheeky lady. Later Kathy would be disappointed when Jess returned the roster and the game didn't continue. But this is before we hid 100 mini ducks in her house... but that's a different memory.

A Memory of Kathy ❤️ I met Kathy in 2019 when we worked together at a retirement home. Over the years, she became much more than a coworker — she became a very good friend and someone I will always remember with so much love. Kathy was such a caring and compassionate person. She had a beautiful heart and always cared about others. She worked very hard, and everyone who knew her loved her. She had a way of making people feel comfortable and cared for, and her kindness was something very special. Some of my favourite memories are the simple ones we shared together. We loved getting together with a few of the other ladies for brunch, going on little trips to Niagara Falls and having fun at Wonderland. Those days gave us so many laughs and memories that I will always treasure. And of course, there were our little traditions and jokes. Kathy would happily go to Dairy Queen while I was having my coffee — because why not? 😂 And we would make plans to go out for a “light lunch”… because we already knew it was casino day! 😂 We knew exactly what that “light lunch” really meant. Looking back, it’s those little moments that I miss the most — the laughs, the conversations, the outings, and simply having Kathy there. I feel very grateful that life brought us together in 2019. I will always carry the memories of our friendship in my heart, and I hope her family knows how loved Kathy was by the people who had the privilege of knowing her. Kathy may no longer be with us, but the memories, laughter, kindness, and love she left behind will always remain. Rest peacefully, Kathy. You will always be remembered and deeply missed. ❤️

One night, when I was still living at home, I couldn't sleep and was on my laptop and noticed that mom was also still awake, and we decided to meat in the kitchen to eat some of her Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. I am not sure why, but this memory has always stuck with me. I will forever be grateful for the simple moments that I shared with mom.