Wife, Mother, Sister, Friend, Neighbor
Kassie loved life! The evening she died, she was out doing what she enjoyed most – being with family and friends, dancing to her favorite Motown band playing at a local VFW. Kassie – the 8th of 10 children – and a wife to Parke, a Mom to Chad and Samantha, sister to 7 brothers and 2 sisters, a neighbor and friend to many — was celebrating her 43rd birthday and while dancing her 4th dance of the evening with one of her brothers she said she didn’t feel well and was going outside to get some air. That is when the aneurism ruptured, taking our Kassie home to God.
Kassie was adamant about being an organ donor. We were fortunate enough to have one of our brothers receive a heart transplant in 1999 at the age of 33 as a result of a virus attacking his heart. Kassie saw the miracle of life in being an organ donor and immediately went to have her driver’s license updated with the Organ Donor logo. Kassie also spoke frequently to family and friends about her desire to donate her organs if anything ever happened to her – because of how great our brother Chris was doing with his new heart. When it came time for us to let go of Kassie, there was no holding back on her wish to be a donor. While we no longer physically have Kassie with us, she will remain always in our hearts and we know that others are continuing to live because of Kassie’s generosity. We find great peace in knowing that Kassie’s desire to be an organ donor was fulfilled – just the way she wanted it.