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 -