Kathryn Ann Blair, 60 of Seattle, is one of 137 individuals laid to rest on this communal plot.
*****************************
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 17, 2014:
The cremated remains of 137 indigent and unclaimed people were interred Wednesday afternoon in a communal burial plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Renton.
Among those buried was Kathryn Ann Blair.
Blair was born in 1952 in Akron, Ohio. She died on the lonely streets of Seattle, eventually discovered in 2013 by One Night Count volunteers tallying the number of homeless people living on Seattle's streets.
Blair died of hypothermia and was found in a greenspace near Interstate 90 and Rainier Avenue South. She was the first dead body found by the teams that annually fan out across the city gathering data on homeless people living in Seattle.
One member of the team that discovered Blair back in January 2013 was Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark.
At the time Clark wrote on her blog, "I couldn't help but wonder who Kathryn Ann Blair was and how she got to be where we found her. Everyone has a story. Sometimes the story helps us focus on our similarities and fragility. Sometimes the story helps us make a little bit of sense out of something seemingly senseless."
The story of Blair, a talented writer who loved books, cats and had an art history degree from Kent State University, was just one of 137 persons who were acknowledged during the somber ceremony in Renton.
The King County Indigent Remains program, started in 1993, provides cremation and burial for people who have died in King County and are indigent or unclaimed after death.
...................................................
Eulogy for Kathryn Ann Blair, 1952–2013
Kathy Blair, a creative only child, spent most of her life in Akron, Ohio, living with her mother.
While I do not have the skill to tell Kathy’s story as well as she could have, I want you to know that Kathryn Ann Blair had a beautiful face, thick, wavy hair, big brown eyes, lots of personality, many talents, and people who loved her.
Kathy was a talented writer and spent hours working on stories and making whimsical drawings of the characters. She loved books and enjoyed spending time in libraries and bookstores. Kathy adored cats, keeping three or more at any one time. At age 10, Kathy was chosen for the role of Helen Keller at Akron’s Weathervane Playhouse. She loved that role and lived to perform in local theatres. After high school, Kathy earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Kent State University.
Kathy was my closest childhood friend—we walked to school together and spent hours talking on the phone.
Kathy began drinking heavily while still in high school and became dependent on alcohol well before reaching age 30. Kathy was still a young woman when she began showing signs of mental illness and was eventually diagnosed as having schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These illnesses plagued Kathy for the rest of her life.
Kathy had no children. She lived with her mother, Jean Blair, until Jean died several years ago.
After Jean’s death, Kathy continued living in the mobile home they had purchased in 1970. She found living on her own to be difficult and lonely. In 2010, Kathy decided to act on her dream of living on the West Coast. She said goodbye to her friends and cats and traveled to San Francisco, where she briefly lived in her own apartment. Feeling dissatisfied, Kathy moved to Seattle in 2011, hoping to find happiness and artistic friends. Instead, she found herself alone and homeless.
Sexual abuse, alcoholism, mental illness and homelessness all contributed to Kathy’s horrible death from hypothermia.
On January 14, I sent Kathy a final (unanswered) text, “I hope you are warm and safe. Love, Deb.”
My parents, Chet and Alice, my husband, Ken, our daughter, Rebecca, and I, thank each of you for bringing our friend in from the cold and remembering her in this special way.
–D. F. K.
*****************************
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 17, 2014:
The cremated remains of 137 indigent and unclaimed people were interred Wednesday afternoon in a communal burial plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Renton.
Among those buried was Kathryn Ann Blair.
Blair was born in 1952 in Akron, Ohio. She died on the lonely streets of Seattle, eventually discovered in 2013 by One Night Count volunteers tallying the number of homeless people living on Seattle's streets.
Blair died of hypothermia and was found in a greenspace near Interstate 90 and Rainier Avenue South. She was the first dead body found by the teams that annually fan out across the city gathering data on homeless people living in Seattle.
One member of the team that discovered Blair back in January 2013 was Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark.
At the time Clark wrote on her blog, "I couldn't help but wonder who Kathryn Ann Blair was and how she got to be where we found her. Everyone has a story. Sometimes the story helps us focus on our similarities and fragility. Sometimes the story helps us make a little bit of sense out of something seemingly senseless."
The story of Blair, a talented writer who loved books, cats and had an art history degree from Kent State University, was just one of 137 persons who were acknowledged during the somber ceremony in Renton.
The King County Indigent Remains program, started in 1993, provides cremation and burial for people who have died in King County and are indigent or unclaimed after death.
...................................................
Eulogy for Kathryn Ann Blair, 1952–2013
Kathy Blair, a creative only child, spent most of her life in Akron, Ohio, living with her mother.
While I do not have the skill to tell Kathy’s story as well as she could have, I want you to know that Kathryn Ann Blair had a beautiful face, thick, wavy hair, big brown eyes, lots of personality, many talents, and people who loved her.
Kathy was a talented writer and spent hours working on stories and making whimsical drawings of the characters. She loved books and enjoyed spending time in libraries and bookstores. Kathy adored cats, keeping three or more at any one time. At age 10, Kathy was chosen for the role of Helen Keller at Akron’s Weathervane Playhouse. She loved that role and lived to perform in local theatres. After high school, Kathy earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Kent State University.
Kathy was my closest childhood friend—we walked to school together and spent hours talking on the phone.
Kathy began drinking heavily while still in high school and became dependent on alcohol well before reaching age 30. Kathy was still a young woman when she began showing signs of mental illness and was eventually diagnosed as having schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These illnesses plagued Kathy for the rest of her life.
Kathy had no children. She lived with her mother, Jean Blair, until Jean died several years ago.
After Jean’s death, Kathy continued living in the mobile home they had purchased in 1970. She found living on her own to be difficult and lonely. In 2010, Kathy decided to act on her dream of living on the West Coast. She said goodbye to her friends and cats and traveled to San Francisco, where she briefly lived in her own apartment. Feeling dissatisfied, Kathy moved to Seattle in 2011, hoping to find happiness and artistic friends. Instead, she found herself alone and homeless.
Sexual abuse, alcoholism, mental illness and homelessness all contributed to Kathy’s horrible death from hypothermia.
On January 14, I sent Kathy a final (unanswered) text, “I hope you are warm and safe. Love, Deb.”
My parents, Chet and Alice, my husband, Ken, our daughter, Rebecca, and I, thank each of you for bringing our friend in from the cold and remembering her in this special way.
–D. F. K.
Kathryn Ann Blair, 60 of Seattle, is one of 137 individuals laid to rest on this communal plot.
*****************************
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 17, 2014:
The cremated remains of 137 indigent and unclaimed people were interred Wednesday afternoon in a communal burial plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Renton.
Among those buried was Kathryn Ann Blair.
Blair was born in 1952 in Akron, Ohio. She died on the lonely streets of Seattle, eventually discovered in 2013 by One Night Count volunteers tallying the number of homeless people living on Seattle's streets.
Blair died of hypothermia and was found in a greenspace near Interstate 90 and Rainier Avenue South. She was the first dead body found by the teams that annually fan out across the city gathering data on homeless people living in Seattle.
One member of the team that discovered Blair back in January 2013 was Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark.
At the time Clark wrote on her blog, "I couldn't help but wonder who Kathryn Ann Blair was and how she got to be where we found her. Everyone has a story. Sometimes the story helps us focus on our similarities and fragility. Sometimes the story helps us make a little bit of sense out of something seemingly senseless."
The story of Blair, a talented writer who loved books, cats and had an art history degree from Kent State University, was just one of 137 persons who were acknowledged during the somber ceremony in Renton.
The King County Indigent Remains program, started in 1993, provides cremation and burial for people who have died in King County and are indigent or unclaimed after death.
...................................................
Eulogy for Kathryn Ann Blair, 1952–2013
Kathy Blair, a creative only child, spent most of her life in Akron, Ohio, living with her mother.
While I do not have the skill to tell Kathy’s story as well as she could have, I want you to know that Kathryn Ann Blair had a beautiful face, thick, wavy hair, big brown eyes, lots of personality, many talents, and people who loved her.
Kathy was a talented writer and spent hours working on stories and making whimsical drawings of the characters. She loved books and enjoyed spending time in libraries and bookstores. Kathy adored cats, keeping three or more at any one time. At age 10, Kathy was chosen for the role of Helen Keller at Akron’s Weathervane Playhouse. She loved that role and lived to perform in local theatres. After high school, Kathy earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Kent State University.
Kathy was my closest childhood friend—we walked to school together and spent hours talking on the phone.
Kathy began drinking heavily while still in high school and became dependent on alcohol well before reaching age 30. Kathy was still a young woman when she began showing signs of mental illness and was eventually diagnosed as having schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These illnesses plagued Kathy for the rest of her life.
Kathy had no children. She lived with her mother, Jean Blair, until Jean died several years ago.
After Jean’s death, Kathy continued living in the mobile home they had purchased in 1970. She found living on her own to be difficult and lonely. In 2010, Kathy decided to act on her dream of living on the West Coast. She said goodbye to her friends and cats and traveled to San Francisco, where she briefly lived in her own apartment. Feeling dissatisfied, Kathy moved to Seattle in 2011, hoping to find happiness and artistic friends. Instead, she found herself alone and homeless.
Sexual abuse, alcoholism, mental illness and homelessness all contributed to Kathy’s horrible death from hypothermia.
On January 14, I sent Kathy a final (unanswered) text, “I hope you are warm and safe. Love, Deb.”
My parents, Chet and Alice, my husband, Ken, our daughter, Rebecca, and I, thank each of you for bringing our friend in from the cold and remembering her in this special way.
–D. F. K.
*****************************
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, September 17, 2014:
The cremated remains of 137 indigent and unclaimed people were interred Wednesday afternoon in a communal burial plot at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Renton.
Among those buried was Kathryn Ann Blair.
Blair was born in 1952 in Akron, Ohio. She died on the lonely streets of Seattle, eventually discovered in 2013 by One Night Count volunteers tallying the number of homeless people living on Seattle's streets.
Blair died of hypothermia and was found in a greenspace near Interstate 90 and Rainier Avenue South. She was the first dead body found by the teams that annually fan out across the city gathering data on homeless people living in Seattle.
One member of the team that discovered Blair back in January 2013 was Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark.
At the time Clark wrote on her blog, "I couldn't help but wonder who Kathryn Ann Blair was and how she got to be where we found her. Everyone has a story. Sometimes the story helps us focus on our similarities and fragility. Sometimes the story helps us make a little bit of sense out of something seemingly senseless."
The story of Blair, a talented writer who loved books, cats and had an art history degree from Kent State University, was just one of 137 persons who were acknowledged during the somber ceremony in Renton.
The King County Indigent Remains program, started in 1993, provides cremation and burial for people who have died in King County and are indigent or unclaimed after death.
...................................................
Eulogy for Kathryn Ann Blair, 1952–2013
Kathy Blair, a creative only child, spent most of her life in Akron, Ohio, living with her mother.
While I do not have the skill to tell Kathy’s story as well as she could have, I want you to know that Kathryn Ann Blair had a beautiful face, thick, wavy hair, big brown eyes, lots of personality, many talents, and people who loved her.
Kathy was a talented writer and spent hours working on stories and making whimsical drawings of the characters. She loved books and enjoyed spending time in libraries and bookstores. Kathy adored cats, keeping three or more at any one time. At age 10, Kathy was chosen for the role of Helen Keller at Akron’s Weathervane Playhouse. She loved that role and lived to perform in local theatres. After high school, Kathy earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from Kent State University.
Kathy was my closest childhood friend—we walked to school together and spent hours talking on the phone.
Kathy began drinking heavily while still in high school and became dependent on alcohol well before reaching age 30. Kathy was still a young woman when she began showing signs of mental illness and was eventually diagnosed as having schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These illnesses plagued Kathy for the rest of her life.
Kathy had no children. She lived with her mother, Jean Blair, until Jean died several years ago.
After Jean’s death, Kathy continued living in the mobile home they had purchased in 1970. She found living on her own to be difficult and lonely. In 2010, Kathy decided to act on her dream of living on the West Coast. She said goodbye to her friends and cats and traveled to San Francisco, where she briefly lived in her own apartment. Feeling dissatisfied, Kathy moved to Seattle in 2011, hoping to find happiness and artistic friends. Instead, she found herself alone and homeless.
Sexual abuse, alcoholism, mental illness and homelessness all contributed to Kathy’s horrible death from hypothermia.
On January 14, I sent Kathy a final (unanswered) text, “I hope you are warm and safe. Love, Deb.”
My parents, Chet and Alice, my husband, Ken, our daughter, Rebecca, and I, thank each of you for bringing our friend in from the cold and remembering her in this special way.
–D. F. K.
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Gone but not forgotten these people of King County September 2014
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