Katharine M. Kimball

July 27th, 1948 - July 27th, 2013

My mom was born July 27th, 1948 in Patteborn, Germany to Antal and Mathilde Geiger. A short time after her birth, her family packed up and headed to the sea...bound to Australia. She was raised in Wodonga, a small farm town. Mom claimed her lifelong addiction to adventure was cultivated out in the country, playing with her brother Anthony and her sisters, Margaret and Dorathea. In her teens she met a the person who would fuel that adventurous spirit. Jackie Duff was to become a lifelong friend, travel partner and in one or two cases...partner in crime. She took a job working for the US government in Germany wher she met the man who would become the father of her children. Ray, born in 1970, Leanne, in 1973, Christine in 1975 and Matthew in 1986. In early 1977 she joined the US Army despite being completely blind in one eye...and half blind in the other. She never let anything get in her way. Where some people have a mid life crisis, my mom had a mid life epipheny. She realized towards the end of her service that her passion was education and becoming a teacher became her new goal. At 40, my mom earned her Bachelor's degree. She took her teaching certification with her to places most teachers wouldnt dare go. She enjoyed making a difference to her students whether on remote island territories, mainland Indian reservations or in rural China. Her students became her family, a family that grew in size and diversity with every job she took, all the while working on her Master's degree which she earned in 1998. She was working on her PhD when she was diagnosed with a rare cancer, Gastro-Intestanal Stromal Tumor. With her diagnoses came a new passion. She became as educated (and in some cases more) about GIST than her doctors. She was a constant source of knowledge and comfort to her fellow 'GIST-ers'. In 11 years she survived 10 surgeries, including having several tumors removed from her abdomen, heart and even her lungs. She handled each surgery with the determination that she would heal more quickly than anyone expected...and that she did. She never ceased to amazed her family, friends and doctors. Her adventurous flame wasn't extinguished by cancer...in fact it was fueled. She made several overseas trips including returning to China and Australia. In the midst of her battle she met Phillip Duncan. After establishing a close, supportive and caring friensdhip with each other, nature took its course and they fell in love. On October 1st, 2008, Phillip and my mom were married and he became a large source of her companionship and support. When my mom's oncologist moved his practice to Miami, she was determined to follow him to receive the same care she had become accustomed to. Phil, despite some understandable apprehension, got behind the move and they made their way to Venice, Florida...their new home. My brother Matt moved in with her and became and additional form of support and joy to her. Florida became a constant tavel destination for our family and their home became a crash pad for family and friends alike. This last year was a time of many changes for our family. We 'circled the wagons' so to speak when my mom's heath took a turn for the worst. My brother Ray and I brought our families for lengthy visits and became constant fixtures in her life. My mom had a way of always getting what she wanted...and what she wanted was her family, surrounding her, in her last months...and that's exactly what she got. She was determined to live to see the birth of the baby Caimbridge and her 65th birthday and as I said...she had a way of getting what she wanted. She passed away early on the morning of her 65th birthday. Katharine Kimall lived on her terms, loved on her terms and in the end died on her terms.

My mom is survived by her husband, Phillip Duncan; her children Ray (wife Carol), Leanne (husband Ron), Christine and Matthew and her grandchildren; Andrew, Samantha, McKenna, Cody, Katie and Nikki.