Mrs Kathleen M Anderson

Kathleen Mary Anderson, born February 9, 1950, passed away on January 15th, 2021 after a brutal fight with COVID-19. Kathleen is survived by her husband of 26 years, partner for more then 39 years Steven Anderson, and her daughter, Karen Elizabeth Schultz, MPH. In addition, she leaves behind her 3 loving fur babies: Annie, Smitty and Casey. Anyone who knew Kathleen knew that her puppies were as much a part of the family as her daughter and husband.

So that is the basic. Now what? When was I asked to write my mom’s obituary, I first thought how hard can it be? Her birth, her death, the day of the service, right? But somehow that did not seem right for this incredible woman who touched so many lives, and whose memory will live on in the hearts and minds of all those who knew and loved her. So now what, what do I do now? How should this be written, what needs to be said, how do I best capture my mom? So, I did what I do best, research! I figured mom used to smile every time I went off to research a new problem, disease or risk assessment, so I would research how to capture a person’s true personality in an obituary.

So, I read...I read obituaries of famous people I admire, obits of people mom respected, the ones used for family on the Schultz side of the family and more, and what I discovered is that while there is the basic information in every document, there is no one right way to write this. I did, however, find one trend in the obituaries that impacted me most, and it was that those were written by loved ones for loved ones, these were just a short conversation. Written to the friends and family who knew her best, so here I go-a short conversation about the woman who has impacted me most in my life, the woman who did not have a mean or cruel bone in her body, the woman who loved with all her heart and would give you her last dollar or shirt off her back.

Kathleen was born February 9th, 1950, Kathleen Mary Gaynor. Kathleen grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey and would pepper her life with stories of her youth, fun tales of growing up in the city that was the heart of the mob and having family and friends who sat just at the outskirts of those tables. Kathleen married Louis Marshall Schultz and then had her only child Karen Elizabeth Schultz in 1977. Kathleen would go on to leave New Jersey and move to Miami Florida with Karen and Lou and then in the early 80’s the three would move to Danville California. It was here in California that Kathleen’s life would really take shape and grow into the amazing woman we all know today.

Kathleen and Lou divorced, in the 1980’s making it just the two of us. Momma and Me! A united pair, from that day on. Kathleen and Karen used this time to develop a relationship that people dream of, that movies base stories on and every mother and daughter want to have. My mom worked hard that I never knew anything but love, and joy. She would surprise me on Magical Mystical Tours where she would pick me up from school, as a surprise, and we would go off just Mom and me on a mini vacation. I would never be able to pick just one memory or trip because each was so amazing, and still now she and I would reference trips and events, memories that shaped our lives. She never missed a school event, a soccer game, a swim meet, a recital. She smiled and shared in my joy, and hugged me tight when my heart was broken. When we were apart we could spent hours on the phone, and together, well we could make a trip to the grocery store fun. We could do anything together, we could handle anything together from getting lost in Tijuana (I was 10), to watching them film the The Lost Boys on the beaches of Santa Cruz…there is not a negative memory from my youth.

Another life changing event took place in 1982, when this clumsy man spilt coffee on my mom in a bar back in April of 1982. That man was Steven Anderson, and the true romantic love of my mom’s life. There is no doubt these two were meant to be. Steve is the ying to her yang, the quiet to her loud, the grumpy to her happy, and he made her happy every day. Kathleen knew with Karen and Steve she could take on the world. Unlike many men of the 80’s Steve was not ostentatious, and flashy, he was not loud and did not fit the image of a young single man in the 80s, and that was perfect for Kathleen. Their first date he won her heart forever, by showing up to take not just Kathleen but her young daughter out as well. They went to the Lafayette carousel, and had a picnic lunch. I scared Steve by taking cookies from a stranger, which he quickly disposed of and gave me the cookies he brought…we were a family…we didn’t know it yet, but we were! Over the years our little family grew closer and closer, and we all eventually moved to Texas because of a transfer within my mom’s company…it turned out to be the best thing for all of us, even if we didn’t know it then. The move took place in 1992, Steve followed in 1993….and finally after over 11 years together, Steve and Kathleen get married. This took place July 29th, 1995 in our backyard in Colleyville Texas! It was perfect! It was family, it was fun, it was love. Steve and Kathleen would continue to build their love story being together over 35 years at the time of her passing.

As the years went on Kathleen worked part time as a customer service representative at the Associates in California, working her way up the ladder and through departments enjoying the different departments and challenges, all except for the collection department…mom couldn’t do it and knew it…so she skipped that one! As her career grew and she took on new responsibilities and tasks. She also began to manage people, starting with a small team and eventually having over 50 employees at one time or another. Kathleen enjoyed working with people, and she lived by the rule you treat everyone with respect, whether they are taking the garbage out, or their name is on the building. She encouraged those who she worked with often helping them advance in their careers, or encouraging them to go to school, get that extra degrees, she would work with you on hours and make sure you had time to study. Kathleen knew that work was work, we have lives outside of work, and sometimes that impacts work, but talk to her and she would work with you. To this day, nothing makes me smile larger then when I meet someone who worked for my mom and they share stories of the sacrifices my mom made for them, or that my mom worked with them so they could study or pick up the kids from carpool. Witnessing how my mom managed people and hearing the impact stories taught me how to manage my teams, taught me how to be successful in my career and just enforced the fact that my mom, Kathleen, is my hero and my role model. I could go on about her different positions, and departments, but at the end of the day to my mom it was much more then a job, and that is what I want you to know by reading this today.

Kathleen Mary Anderson was a genuine, kind compassionate woman who would help anyone, and it was rare to meet a person in her life whom she had not impacted in one way or another. She was kind, considerate, loving, and believed that family did not stop with blood, and you always forgive. Do not hold on to hate, let grudges go, and loved. Mom used to say, "love yourself, because how can someone else love you if you don’t love you". Kathleen always knew the right words to brighten someone’s day and would listen to you for hours if needed to help solve the problem, or to soothe a soul. At the end of the day Kathleen was a woman who loved hard, was fiercely protective of those she loved, and just wanted to be surrounded by those she loved whenever she could.

The world became a slightly darker place when we lost Kathleen Anderson on January 15th, 2021 and I hope that this conversation gives a quick reminder as to who she was and brings a bit of warmth to us down here, and a smile to her up there…because I know without a doubt that Kathleen is looking down, sharing a glass of wine with those we lost before her, walking the beach and enjoying the water, with her fur babies Buddy, Daisy, Duncan and Kelsey running alongside her keeping her company until we meet again. With that, I say good night mom, I love you, we all love you and you will be missed. But, until we meet again, we will continue to live our lives in your honor, your memory will never grow cold, and you will be talked about and talked to often. When the time comes for us all to meet again, I just hope you great us with that cherubic smile of yours and say, “I missed you, I love you and I’m proud of you…now what’s for dinner?”

A celebration of Kathleen’s life will be held on Saturday February 6th, 2021 at 2:00pm at Keller’s Old Town Funeral Home in Keller Texas. The service will be followed by a light reception to allow a time to honor and share memories about Kathleen.

Flowers are welcome, but donations can be made in Kathleen’s honor at: https://gofund.me/ab131251

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