Kate

Sad news . . . my long-time friend Kate O’Connor passed away this week.  Kate and I worked together behind the bar many years ago, and although separated geographically afterward we always remained close via email, phone, and in spirit.  She was a smart, tough, eloquent woman who took all that life dished out and yet somehow still managed to shine.  No one who met her can forget her intelligence, charm, her refusal to sugar-coat things, and her wry sense of humor.  But she had battled multiple sclerosis for the last twenty years, and now she’s left us.  Dream sweet, beautiful lady.

(This week’s post coming Sunday or Monday.)

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11 Responses to Kate

  1. Colleen says:

    My condolences, Mike.

  2. Llylak says:

    I’m sorry to hear about your friend. Perhaps because you told us about her MS I see a sadness in her eyes. May her spirit find peace and rest.

  3. Starbucks8294 says:

    Sorry to hear about Kate, buddy. Good friends are hard to come by. Its tough to lose them. Chin up she’s in a better place.

  4. Chris says:

    My sympathies to Kate’s family, and to her friends who loved her.

  5. Jake says:

    It’s the hardest thing to lose good people harder than anything else. My condolences. Keep the faith.

  6. JT says:

    Sorry to hear about your loss of such a good friend and beautiful person. Memories are all we have to comfort us in times of loss. Keep them always.

  7. MikeQ says:

    Thank you, Chris and Llylak, Jake, Starbucks my good friend. Colleen — this hasn’t been an easy summer for us, first your Uncle Eddie, now Kate. Thanks for talking it over with me. JT, thanks for the wise words … see you at the Blues Jam next Sunday.

  8. Clare says:

    This is Kate’s son. I want to thank everyone for showing their support. And Mike I especially want to thank you. My mother talked about you often and I know she wanted to see you again. Thank you again for your kind words. Its good to see how her friends saw her. I wish I knew her in the times you did.

  9. MikeQ says:

    Clare: I hope you know you were the only thing that kept Kate going day to day — her struggles were so many. Eamonn also (is he your cousin? … a lot of great Irish names in your family) mentioned that he wished he’d known Kate in her early twenties. That’s when we were bartending together, and that’s how I’ll always remember her. Hang in there, Clare, this too will pass. She was a great lady, she lived a full and exciting life, she had a son she was so proud of and was the apple of her eye, … and now she’s finally at peace.

  10. Caveman says:

    Sorry to hear of your loss Mike.

  11. MikeQ says:

    Caveman: Thanks, man. I guess it still hasn’t fully hit me yet. Sometimes last week, talking with her son or telling someone about her passing, I got choked really up … but if I’m not thinking about it, I guess I’m not really recognizing that she’s gone. Sometimes Kate and I would talk on the phone every week, maybe more than once a week, … and then other times one of us would get busy and we’d go a month or more between calls or emails.

    I think more about her son’s loss, and her sister Rosie. And I think of the world’s loss … and I really mean that. Kate was the most articulate person I’ve ever met. If she had gotten around to writing (instead of being a newspaper editor for the last twenty years) the world would be in mourning now, not just the people who knew her personally. But she had so much to deal with, so many struggles in her life.

    (Just went and read your latest post, Caveman … great stuff as always. Keep writing.)

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