5 years ago today...my life changed forever...

"You can shed tears that she is gone,
or you can smile because she has lived.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her,
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she's gone,
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty, and turn your back,
or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on."
(She's Gone by Anonymous)

Kathryn Ann Rae Zednick left our world a better place 5 years ago today. Enveloped in love and music with Kevin and Martha by her side, she joined her mother, father, and sister in what she once called Paradise. To those she left behind it feels like an eternity and yet it still feels like yesterday. Kate was a kind, compassionate, and loving person and as so left behind many who remember her fondly.

Born February 2, 1952 to John and Jeanne Rae, she was already a spitfire. She grew up in Roundup with her sister, Carole and brother, John. She was an active child and grew into an active adult. She believed boredom was only a state of mind, and that one should never allow herself to be bored. Kate was far from boring and was rarely bored for long. She graduated from Roundup High School and went on to Montana State University Bozeman for her undergraduate degree and then Washington, where she obtained her Masters in Social Work. She worked for the state for a while, but eventually opened her own practice. Kate was very well loved by her many patients throughout the years and in returned she loved them too. It was during her time in private practice that Kate discovered her passion for alternative medicine. She loved learning about new types of treatment and teaching them to others. This passion turned into a new path. Kate became a Reiki master. She loved Reiki, the people it brought to her, and the people to whom it brought her. She was skilled at explaining what Reiki does and making people feel at ease. It seemed to be the perfect fit. Eventually during her life Kate would move from Montana to the Virgin Islands and fulfill her life-long dream to live by the ocean. She was very happy there and loved the people and scenery.

She left behind many who loved her including: Kevin Wickenburg (her love), friend Martha Wynne-Ferro and her husband Tom, friends Elizabeth and Rick Jenkins, son Casey Zednick and his wife Yukari, daughter Jessica Lofland, daughter of her heart Jesse Harris, brother John Rae and his wife Susan (and their 3 boys), special ex Linda Harris, special cousins the Robbins girls, nephew Jeremy Rae, and many many others who will always remember her.

** I know there are parts that seem incomplete and for that I'm sorry, but it's still a little stingy to talk about some stuff. So since there was never an obit I decided to write my own memorial one...