February 16, 1937 - August 31, 2013
STANNARD, Kathleen Cody Lewis (Age 76) The Great Kate! Kathleen (Kate) Cody (cat in the hat) natty dressed, Lewis Stannard, hopped her launching pad, with the bounce of her tattooed ""Teeger"", and rebirthed into eternal life, on Saturday August, 31st, 2013. Kathleen is survived by her six children, Lynn, Leslie, Jenni, Beth, Mathew, and Gerard (Jed), eleven grandchildren and her (Ex) husband, Mike Stannard. Kathleen trekked through life as a professional gadget bargain hunter extraordinaire, eclectic collector of five of everything. She held a Bachelor Degree from Gonzaga University and pursued a career in teaching up until the births of her children. Her focus then shifted into Chief Executive Mother. She always said, ""I want six kids, and all to be warriors for God."" She never missed Sunday Mass gifting her children the glorious opportunity to learn about our heavenly Father, Catholic style. She knew the Saints, quoted them, and relied upon them for comfort. She lost everything, every time, and St. Anthony found everything, every time. Kathleen's journey through seventy six years was a constant bitter sweet. She was a third order Franciscan with a special focus on the teachings of Saint Francis. She was an avid fan of the Seattle Mariners. Her quirky view on life served a delicious platter of comedy, clown style. No matter what chapter she was living in, it always ended with unfinished business. ""Kate"" had a draconian contempt for Nuns and their rulers, which inevitably landed a red mark on her hand twice daily during her school years. This experience ultimately became her driving force in mastering chicanery to fulfill her desires. Add a side of hyperbole and her dish is complete. She had an uncanny technique to caterwaul into getting what she wanted. Her miscreant nature landed her in the proverbial ""hot water"" to her delight. Her bemoaning muddles lent to her incongruities resulting in a constant wave of self-inflicted gloom. Ice Cream! She was acutely aware of the sounds of life around her and captured nature's wonders through water color paintings. She could run categories in the game of Jeopardy, sew ski jackets, cook up a bevy of comfort foods, knit, crochet, and find the best ice cream in town. To quote the lyrics of one of her favorite songs, ""She hurts deep, and when she weeps, she's just as fragile as a child, but she's a sparrow when she's broken, and she's an eagle when she flies."" (Dolly Parton) She never let a good crisis go to waste. Every event was fortuitous in her clever mind. While most have friends and foes, she did not have the latter. She postulated her philosophies, and those who disagreed didn't let the door hit them on the way out. Frequently in error, never in doubt, she would abdicate them immediately. She prided herself in living a life of poverty. She had her ""needs"" of course. The latest gadgets, I phones, I pads, ice cream, Shoes, a personal assistant, personal driver, ice cream, an apartment with a glorious view of Seattle's Puget Sound, flower gardens, ice cream and maids. Many thanks to the taxpayers and her children for this extraordinary set of material minutia she just ""must have!"" Her later years consisted of daily doses of story- telling always using the same phrases, (some she coined.) ""Horse Feathers, that really rankles me, Ice Cream, you kids are gonna be the end of me, balderdash, Ice Cream, I'm gonna bean you, Ice Cream, my nerves are shot, Ice Cream! Her family will be honoring her wishes to celebrate her life, with a special Mass, presented by Father Dave Kuttner, on Tuesday September 4th. The family asks that all donations go to the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. www.vanessabehan.org. There wasn't a child on earth that didn't put a smile on her face.
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