You were always such a fighter and an inspiration to me. In a way you still beat out the cancer because you survived it three years when most at your stage would have only lasted one. I'll never forget how you never gave up even when things got at their worst. Always insisting on walking on your own and giving the rest of us heart attacks. You were such a strong woman and I hope to be like you someday. I'm glad you are finally no longer in pain, but I miss you so much. You'll always be a part of my life no matter what happens. I'm glad for the memories we got to have together and I'll never forget them.
I will love you forever and always mom.
Rest in peace -
Brie
Love you always. You were the bravest person I've ever known, and I never could have asked you to fight so hard for so long to stay here with me. Thank you for everything. You will always be a part of me, whether it's my choices in life or how I behave. I love you so much.
Thank you to everyone who has been at her side and supported her with her battle. We will never forget your kindness.
William Dickie
When you talk about Kate, it's hard to know which Kate to talk about.
You can talk about Scientist Kate, who worked on things as diverse as the Galileo Spacecraft and software for tracking over the counter derivatives, the most complicated financial instruments on the face of the planet.
You can talk about Artist Kate, with her highly successful jewelry business, the handmade Halloween costumes she would make every year for the kids, or the fashionable hats she made for her sister's Sylmar "Relay for life" a year and half into cancer.
You can talk about Kate the cook, who loved kitchen gadgets and recipes and had subscriptions to every cooking magazine on the face of the planet.
You can talk about Kate the competitive tennis player, leading her DBH tennis team to division victory one year and watching the grand slams so she could point out all the mistakes the best players in the world were making.
You can talk about Kate the tennis mom, who converted our Toyota Sequoia into the unofficial bus and our dogs Tasha and Patric into unofficial mascots for the Boys and Girl's tennis teams and never missed a home match for either Will or Brie in the six year span they were on the teams.
You can talk about Kate the beach girl and the collection of shells we have in the house that span a 50 year timeframe, from Catalina when she was a child to our trip to Aruba in March 2012.
But I'd rather talk about Kate the hero. Because I can't think of anything more heroic that getting up day after day for almost three years, knowing you're fighting a battle you have almost no chance of winning. Fighting not only the cancer, but the side affects of the treatments that were almost as bad as the disease. And yet, every day, living as much as you can, loving as much as you can, finding as much joy as you can.
We did a lot of travelling after Kate was diagnosed, but it wasn't the travel or the exotic places we went that made it fun. It was fun because Kate enjoyed herself. Whether it was the panoramic vistas of the Greek Islands, or feeding grapes to Iguanas in Aruba, she always found something to smile about. She lived in the moment every day without complaint or bitterness.
She was the bravest person I've ever known, and it was a privilege to be her husband.
Rest in peace, sweetie.
Dave Dickie
