Kathryn Luana Arnold

Kathryn Luana (Boyle) Arnold passed away peacefully on November 19, 2022, at St. Vincent’s Nursing Home, after a long journey with Alzheimer’s Disease. Her family were able to be with her at the end, including daughters Maggie and Mary Kathryn, granddaughters Rose and Clara Roustom, son-in-law Christopher Brown and daughter-in-law Katie Wright.

Kathryn was born in Kentville, NS, the daughter of Doris Marjorie (Cohoon) and Howard Kinsman Boyle. She grew up in her beloved Annapolis Valley, and moved to Halifax as a teenager, attending Halifax Ladies’ College (Class of 1964). She graduated from Dalhousie University with a B.A. and M.A. in English, and a B.Ed. While there she met John Arnold; they were married on October 9, 1971, and celebrated their 50th anniversary last year.

Kathryn taught at Halifax Ladies’ College until the birth of her children, and then devoted herself to the care of her family and her community. She volunteered and raised funds for numerous organizations in Halifax, including the Canadian Cancer Society, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Museum of Natural History (where she taught a course on whales), the Halifax Grammar School, and All Saints’ Cathedral.

The most loving of mothers, the greatest gift she passed on was her passion for reading and writing and art. She was always ready to discuss an author or artist, from Thomas Carlyle to Carl Jung, Alice Munro to Anne Tyler, Alex Colville to Mary Pratt, to name a few of her favourites. She was a faithful member of a women’s book club for many happy years. She herself wrote a wonderful children’s book, Riddles and Roses, Rivers and Dreams.

Kathryn made a beautiful and welcoming home. Her Christmas gift-giving was the stuff of legend, and she would stop anything to bake her famous chocolate chip cookies with a grandchild. “Nana” was cool. She played the piano, meditated, and rocked to the Beatles and Aerosmith. Once upon a time, as young hippies, she and John hitch-hiked to see Paul Simon and Judy Collins play a concert in a meadow. Later in life she accompanied her daughter Mary Kate to see Prince.

She was predeceased by her parents, her older brother Bill, and her husband, who passed away in March. In Heaven’s kitchen, she and John are dancing again to “Still the One.” Looks like they made it.

The funeral was private; a memorial service at All Saints’ Cathedral is planned for August of 2023. Donations may be made in her memory to the Alzheimer’s Society of Nova Scotia, and to St. Vincent’s Nursing Home.