Obituaries

My heart breaks for Kat’s family and I offer them my deep and sincere condolences. I was Kat’s neighbour for most of the last year of her life. Little snippets of her creative past broke through at times, but to me she was mostly a kind and compassionate soul who had lost her way. She was friendly towards me, and got excited about any bit of good news, and oh did she love her pets (a dog and multiple cats). During her darkest moments, I tried to offer her words of love, hope and support but she kept telling me, “There is no help out there.” Despite the short-lived bursts of hope that popped up through her creative ideas, it seemed she was spiralling from despair into hopelessness. In our last conversation in early August when she was a broken person, I shared some Scriptures with her about God’s unconditional love and that she would never be alone, gave her a hug, and told her I loved her. She moved, I moved, and I continued to pray for her. So it was with great sadness that I read of her death today. I pray that in her final moments, she remembered the love of Christ and accepted the peace that only He can bring. To her friends/acquaintances who may have also lost their way, please reach out for help. There are many organizations willing to come alongside in support – Adult and Teen Challenge for one, Lighthouse Mission, Bruce Oake Recovery Centre, etc. Kat had so much untapped potential that was not fully realized. My heart aches for her life cut short.