Katie - this is to you and your family.

I have debated about writing, but then finally - you can never have regrets in life. I was never graced with the presence of meeting you.
From the things I have read and heard you were a person that when you were here, made the world just a little brighter. How I came into your family's life -well.... I was with your brother Matt on the day that you passed away.
He was out in my area in South Dakota to pheasant hunt. We had not been friends too long before this. When I spoke to him he had just shortly arrived in SD and told me of the news. I just said I would come and get him and and I would get him on a plane out of Pierre in the morning to Minneapolis. What is even more unusual is this is the first time your brother and I met. He so desperately wanted to get to Minneapolis and be with your family.
You could just feel the hurt within his heart.


I feel I have a very strange connection to you and your family. I am grateful that I could be there for him and I hope I provided comfort to one of your siblings. It was so evident by all the phone calls and emotions that your family was so very close and loved you very much.
Katie I am so sorry that you were not able to experience more of life.
You sound like you had such a giving and beautiful soul. I just had to write to let you know that you touched one more life - not by your physical presence, but by the kind of person that your memory has personified. It has reminded me of what kind of person we are and what legacy we will leave behind.

You and your family have been in my thoughts and prayers.

Perhaps, they are not stars in the sky,
but rather openings,
where our loved ones shine down
to let us know they are happy.

Lisa -

The Blue Wonder

I was thinking of Katie recently when a random memory surfaced - that of her old trusty car, the Blue Wonder. The picture above is a somewhat accurate representation found on the Internet. The Wonder was driven off into the sunset long before the advent of digital photography so this photo will have to do. The Blue Wonder was no ordinary college student beater car. First of all it had a name...something my two-tone Ford Escort never warranted. Secondly it was a powder blue Toyota Corona. That is not a typo; the make was actually a Corona, not a Corolla. This was a source of confusion anytime the Wonder needed service. Once when a new windshield was in order the glass company brought one for a Corolla despite Katie's best attempts to make them understand what kind of car they would find when they arrived. The Blue Wonder had seen better days by the time it became Katie's. I don't know for sure, but I suspect it was the Guzik family car at one point in time. In its day it was probably somewhat of a luxurious automobile. It had plush, velvety, baby blue interior and if I'm not mistaken, power windows and locks. My first memory of the Blue Wonder is that is smelled faintly of sour milk. The story behind the smell has been forgotten but I think many attempts were made to rid the car of the odor, to no avail. The body of the Wonder had spots of bondo, which only added to its character and the engine made interesting noises. This car shuttled us many places during our college years. Trips back and forth to St. John's, rides into St. Cloud for groceries, road trips to the cities for various types of amusement and also to visit the Guzik home. Whenever the Blue Wonder was parked in the driveway, Wally made sure to check the oil and the tires and give it a clean bill of health before we girls piled into it again and headed for our next stop. If I recall correctly there was also a medallion or picture of a saint on the back of the sun visor. Probably St. Christopher, the patron saint of travel, to protect us in our comings and goings. The new found freedom of college was definitely enhanced by our ability to take to the open road, compliments of Katie and her Blue Wonder. We were never sure if we trusted it fully to get us from point A to point B but I don't recall there ever being an incident. For that I thank St. Christopher, and of course Wally. -Kay

You Never

You never said I'm leaving
You never said goodbye

You were gone before I knew it,

And only God knew why

A million times I needed you,

A million times I cried

If Love alone could have saved you,

You never would have died

In Life I loved you dearly

In death I love you still

In my heart you hold a place,

That no one could ever fill

It broke my heart to lose you,

But you didn't go alone

For part of me went with you,

The day God took you home.

-Matt

Bubble Fight Katie

I have so many wonderful memories that Katie helped create for me and my family. Here is the one that earned Katie the nickname "Bubble Fight Katie" with my kids.



Katie came to spend the weekend with us in Eveleth a few years back. When she arrived my daughters were upstairs playing in the bathtub. Katie put down her backpack and immediately headed up the stairs to go and say hello to the kids. They had been asking "when is Katie going to be here" all day so as soon as they saw her I heard the laughter begin. After a couple of minutes I heard the jets on the bathtub turn on and Katie's mischievous laugh accompanied by the laughter of the kids echoed down the stairway. The laughter continued for a few minutes and knowing Katie to be, well, Katie I figured I better go upstairs and check things out for myself. After all, I didn't want to miss out on whatever fun Katie had conjured up. As I rounded the corner in the hallway I was met with a wall of bubbles up to my waist. Katie was standing in the entry to the bathroom and she was covered in bubbles. The girls were still in the tub. The bubbles had risen above their heads by this point but that hadn't stopped them. Katie and the girls continued to sling bubbles at each other and laughing hysterically. The kids never forgot that moment and to this day my daughters refer to her as bubble fight Katie.