In 1963 she graduated from Glenwood High School where she was Captain of the cheerleading squad her senior year.
After a final summer at her home on Lake Minnewaska, Kathy moved to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, where she started work at The University of Minnesota and eventually became Assistant to the Director of the Department of Continuing Medical Education. In that role, she was responsible for planning and overseeing a number of courses and seminars each and every year for Physicians and Surgeons from around the world. At one conference she was asked by Dr. Christiaan Barnard, the Heart Transplant Pioneer, to come to South Africa to work for him. She declined.
In 1975, Kathy met her Husband -to-be-, Neil, on a diving trip to Grand Caymen. They married in Glenwood, October 30, 1976.
Kathy moved with Neil, first to Houston, Texas, and then on January 1977, to Memphis, where they have lived ever since.
She was passionate about animal rescue, and especially loved pit bulls. She was one of the Founders of The Saviour Foundation Rescue Group.
Kathy was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in June 2014. She had surgery and then rounds of chemotherapy. All was fine until the Summer of 2018, when her scan showed that the cancer cells had spread to her lungs.
From the time of her diagnosis she became an ardent advocate to spread knowledge about Pancreatic Cancer, how to live with it and the need for more funding to find a cure for it.
In addition to her husband, Kathy leaves behind her son David, her brother and sister-in-law, Donald and Sherrie Vegoe of Roseville, MN, her sister and brother-in-law, Gerry and Patricia Larson of Glenwood and several cousins. Not to be forgotten are the family furbabies, Boomer, and Lazy.
The family thanks Dr. Kurt Tauer and his staff at West Cancer Center for the excellent care they gave Kathy during her Journey and to the Nurses and support staff at Methodist Hospice, who provided home care during her final few days.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers that donations be made either to the Puppy up foundation or to The Herb Kosten Foundation.
There will be a Celebration of Kathy's life Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at 7 PM. Her family will receive guests from 5 PM until 7 PM at Memphis Funeral Home, 5599 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38119
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MemphisFuneralPoplar.com for the Solomon family.
