I had the pleasure of meeting Kathleen when she returned home from the hospital after her Stroke. As an occupational therapist, my role was to help her gain independence in mobility and activities of daily living. I admired her kindness, strength and determination however our therapy sessions were going to be on her terms! I was challenged each session and although I thought I was clever enough to trick her into doing activities I wanted to work on, she always managed to outwit me. I finally showed up with something she would enjoy doing, the fishing game. It was the one thing that I found in which she would diligently use her weaker hand to catch the fish. More importantly we always laughed together as she shouted at the fish to “open their mouths”!  I saw her 3-5 times a week and so enjoyed hearing stories about her life and travels. I will take with me her beauty tips and sayings… and will miss the little treats that she would send me off with, thanking me for the little things…

I first got to know Kathleen well when she called and asked me to visit Jeffrey in hospital after he learned that he was not going to be able to go home after his heart bypass surgery the day his physicians had promised. Jeff and I were colleagues at Stanford GSB and my office was across from his. While he and I knew each other, to be honest I always found him a bit intimidating. I don’t think I had met Kathleen other than in passing at that point, so I was a bit surprised (and flattered) when she asked me to try to help cheer him up.

When I saw them together, I realized he was putty in her hands. His love was palpable as was hers. When I read his dedications of his books to her, they often caused me to tear up.

As I had the wonderful experience of getting to know them both better, both while I was at Stanford and when I would visit San Francisco from Harvard Business School and Yale, I learned why he called her The Boss. She brooked no sugarcoating and trite sentiments, telling me on more than one occasion when I whined about my adopted son’s adolescent laziness, that she never did understand why I had decided to adopt a child as a single mom. Of course, as she probably expected, that triggered an outpouring of motherly love for my otherwise perfect son Christoph. In fact, she and Jeff were instrumental in my having the courage to try to adopt, not knowing whether my having had breast cancer when I was 31 would be a show stopper. As Jeffrey so wisely put it, Kathleen and I will support you in whatever you decide to do, but remember life is not a dress rehearsal.

Three weeks before I was due to fly to Boston from Stanford to become a visiting professor at Harvard Business School, I fractured my ankle and broke the bone by my knee. I was in a wheelchair and unable to get in or out of my house because of its stairs. Kathleen stepped right up, and without being asked, she did all my packing for me. When it was time for me to leave my house, I assured her that I could navigate the front steps on the the two boards my neighbors had put over the steps. Well, gravity had another idea. As soon as I started down my make-shift ramp, the wheelchair started to tip over. I still don’t know how she did it, but Kathleen miraculously scooted to the side, righted the chair, and safely guided me to the level pavement. It was like a person lifting up a car to save someone. Gravity should have won but it did not have a chance faced with the power of The Boss.

Kathleen, Christoph and I love Jeffrey and you. Weknow your Spirit endures and that you will continue to make sure Jeffrey continues to make good trouble.

I was just a teenager when Kathy hired me to help her crunch numbers on Sundays for her accounting business. She had pages of unglamorous reconciling to balance her client's bookkeeping that she needed help with.  The house was always cozy and she set me up at the dining table with a calculator, pencils, and a stack of accounting ledgers. In between number crunching, I would stare up at the painting of Sascha cat.  The caregiver in Kathy was apparent ( even though she was adamant about not having children) she would not only generously overpay me but feed me as well. I would leave the Greystone terrace house with a brain full of numbers, a full belly, and a check to keep me on my feet. I was and will always be grateful for her love and support.
We shared stories, we laughed and exchanged views and opinions but most importantly,  created a long-lasting friendship. As time went on, and our lives played out our different narratives, we always kept in contact. No matter what country I moved to, or what scenario had occurred to each of us, we would share and always bring humor in to show the absurdity of life. Actually, she was more like a sister to me than my actual sister. She appreciated my strength and resilience and I, her dedication and focus on her beliefs. We could chat for hours.

Even though this last year was a struggle for her,  we continued as much as possible with our Sunday phone dates with the nine-hour time difference to stay connected. I wished I lived closer so I could have helped with her physiotherapy. ( I have been a physical trainer and coach for over 30 years now) I encouraged her from afar all the while understanding her struggles. Nonetheless, after all the complaining we would always follow it by laughing as we shared our versions of our latest views on the world. Kathy, you are missed and loved by many but stay in my heart forever. RIP dear sister.

I was Kathleen’s honey. You see, my wife and I have bees and harvest honey. We met Kathleen in 1984 after I met Jeff during the Stanford GSB Sloan program. I think Kathleen liked the taste of the honey but she really appreciated the fact that it seemed to control some allergies that she had.  Jeff and I regularly have lunch and he was always prodded by Kathleen to make sure that I brought some honey along for her. I was fortunate to have seen Kathleen and deliver her final jar of honey about a week before she died. We shall miss her.

Kathy Fowler and I were roommates at Southwest Texas State. We lived together for a short period, but did we have fun. We became instant friends, then life long loyal friends for 60 years. I miss her so, miss her laughs, her sayings !!!!! her face. RIP-Kathy- I love you.

Kathy had quite the sense of humor. She came dressed as a condom to a costume party I had at my Castro Street apt. She stole the show!
I’ll always remember one of her often quoted expressions, “ What a long strange trip it’s been!”

Kathy and I met about 50 years ago at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.  She was in the Public Relations Department and I was in the Statistics Unit.  I was getting bored with my work and wanted her advice on whether a transfer to the Bank Examinations unit would be a good fit for me.  She had spent a short period of time in that department so I knew she would have good insight and give me honest reasons on why she left.  She tried mightily to discourage me because of a host of reasons including why working for a department of only men was not a great idea for a female.  This was in the era of blatant male chauvinism and harassment.  Well needless to say, I took that as a challenge and transferred anyway.  It turned out to be the best career move of my life as I retired 34 years later as the first fully commissioned female examiner for the Fed in San Francisco.  We remained close friends since that day, and I will forever remain grateful for her loyalty, kindness and generosity over the years.  She was a positive bright light in this world  and I will miss her dearly.  

My husband Jim Pierce and Kathy are 1st cousins once removed.  Kathy's mom Frances was Jim's great aunt, sister to Jim's grandmother Ruthie (Mrs James J Butcher, nee Heard).  They shared grandparents Sherwood Heard and Lillian Brashears.  Jim's mom, Barbara Pierce, nee Butcher, was Kathy's 1st cousin.  "Bobbie" died in 2004.

Our family connected with Kathy after our twins, David and Nigel, were born.  We all share many fun memories of our visits in San Fransisco and San Diego.  We took advantage of every excuse we could to get together, tho we lived 500 miles apart.  Most occasions found us dining together.  Food and travel and philosophy were common threads of conversations.  Genealogy is my interest and Kathy supplied me with valuable family records and letters.

We loved Kathy so much and wish she were still as healthy and vibrant as ever.  We all miss her.