Katie's family have been long-time supporters of CAFOD, and when she died at just 31 years old they knew a Candlelight Fund was a loving way to remember their love for her through their support of the people we work with.
Katie & her niece, Sephi
Remembering Katie - by Dee Ewing
Katharine, Katie, Kate, Kitkat, Aunty Kitkat, all of the names that my daughter got called during her life.
The one she loved the most was Aunty Kitkat which she became when her beloved niece Seraphina (Sephi)- arrived in October 2011. We have wonderful photos and memories of the two of them playing together – one hilarious moment was of Katie pulling Sephi by the ankles and sliding her around our kitchen floor whilst screaming with laughter.
Christmas was the time Katie loved the most. She especially loved cribs and I have them out every year. Also having Sephi to buy for meant she could spend a lot of time in Santa’s Grotto. If she went missing at work – her colleagues all knew where to find her!
Katie was my third child, having an older brother and sister, Jonathan and Elizabeth.
The teenage years were interesting to say the least – they all had very different tastes in music and the sounds emanating from the bedrooms at times must have drove the neighbours mad! Katie’s music taste covered a wide span from early blues through The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel to Nirvana.
Despite never seeming to revise, Katie passed all her exams. Whilst she would say she didn’t enjoy school she did develop a love of reading, especially modern history, focusing on the cold war period and Robert Kennedy in particular. Always interested in domestic and International Politics, we would stay up on Election nights to watch the results.
By her mid-20s Katie had found a good job in a local department store and formed many friends there. The memory book they all contributed to is wonderful and it was obvious how much she meant to them all.
In 2015 I decided to move back to East Anglia to live by the sea. Katie was still living at home but was all for me giving up work and moving. She was asked to come with me but decided it was time that she found a place of her own and she found herself a nice place to live near her work and enjoyed her freedom and independence.
In April 2017 my daughter Elizabeth gave birth to Luna. Then in May 2017 her brother and his partner had their first child, James. Katie loved being an aunt. Her workmates testified that Katie showed photos and told them every stage of her nieces and nephew growing.
Little did we know that just one week later, after having a problem with her leg that Katie would be diagnosed with Sarcoma, a very rare cancer, which unfortunately had already spread to her lungs. We were called for a meeting only to be told there was nothing more they could do. We were all with her when she died at 2am on 20 July – just 2 weeks after diagnosis.
We all miss her so dreadfully and still find it so difficult. I am still so angry that she died so young but am grateful that we had her for almost 31 years. Katie would have been 39 years old on 31 July this year. I talk to her every day and tell her about family news and international news which she was very interested in. What she would make of the world at the moment I dread to think.
I have always supported CAFOD and got to know about the Candlelight Funds I post messages to Katie at times throughout the year, especially Christmas, which she loved.
Her sister and brother have photos of her in their homes and talk to their children about Aunty Kitkat and she will never be forgotten.
Would you like to set up a Candlelight Fund for someone special?
A Candlelight Fund is a special fund in memory of a loved one who has died, where all donations made in their memory are combined to create a beautifully lasting tribute to them.
There are no targets, deadlines or minimum amounts involved. This is your fund and you can grow it in whatever way feels comfortable.