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"When someone we love dies, we never get to see them again but we will always feel them, because they live on in our hearts and our memories in our smiles and our tears and even though we can't touch them, we will never forget how they touched us."
This quote could be said about any special person who passes away. For us, it is about Kathryn McGraw.
Kathryn was a remarkable woman. Those who knew her would have no argument about that.
Kathryn was good at many things but to me she was best at touching lives. She touched mine and she touched my brother's. And we are just two on a very, very long list.
Kathryn was appreciative of the positive things in life. She often sent notes to this paper pointing out something she felt was well done and important to the area in which she lived.
Life wasn't easy for Kathryn. She lost a son, Bob, in 1964 and her husband, John, in 1974, both to cancer.
She had six children still in school when John died, leaving her to continue to raise them on her own.
She was no stranger to taking care of family. She lost her mother in 1928 after a house fire which put her in the position to do a lot of the cooking and housework.
She graduated high school and obtained a teaching license from Platteville. She taught for awhile before becoming a full time wife and mother,
Kathryn has been a leader in her church, St. Bridgets, where she has mentored young people in their faith.
And then there were her pies.
She baked pies for the raffle at the Dodgeville Area Scholarship Fund golf outing and raised hundreds of dollars to help area students further their education. (The pies tasted great, too.)
And every birthday or special occasion for my brother a pie would show up for him and mysteriously left the building before anyone got a piece.
Kathryn has meant many things to many people and all of those things are good. People like Kathryn are hard to find and really cannot be replaced. She was a wonderful gift.
"Wonderful gifts don't have an expiration. They remain our most beautiful memories."