KATHERINE ALINDA LAWRENCE

Katherine Alinda Lawrence was born on September 20, 1968, in Houston, Texas, to Rolinda and Jon Dee Lawrence. Also, she was welcomed by her brother, Craig Lawrence; paternal grandparents George and Daisy Lawrence of Houston, TX; maternal grandparents Roland and Katherine Bailey of Dallas, TX; aunt Alma Kuehn(nee. Lawrence )and uncle Tim Lawrence both of Houston, TX.

She passed away at her home on Saturday, November 21, 2020 in Laredo, TX.

Kathy attended both "regular" classes and "special education" classes during her childhood and teenage years. It depended upon the offerings of the educational system (in St. Louis, Missouri;Little Rock, Arkansas;Dallas,Texas; or Austin,Texas) and her needs. She faced each spring at "report" time and each fall at "planning time" with anticipation and eager hope. She had some remarkable and unforgettably excellent teachers who enhanced her experiences. She learned to read and subscribed to "TV Guide" which she read from cover to cover each week. "Her programs" were very special to her and she guarded her time for watching them.

She graduated from Westlake High School in 1988 in Austin TX, with much pomp and circumstance. The "special graduates" got a standing ovation from the student body when they walked across the stage to accept their certificates. One of the football coaches was a lay minister in a local church and he made sure that the "special" lady students got corsages for all the home coming football games that were presented by the star football players. The cheering squad came to all the local special olympic meets to support the athletes.

One year at the opening ceremonies of the State Special Olympics in San Marcos, Texas, she got to lead the athletes in the opening pledge. (Let me win, but if I can not win. Let me be brave in the attempt.) This happened the day after she got to put a gold medal around the neck of George Strait as a thank you for his performance at the festivities. Since she was an avid country & western music fan and George Strait was her most favorite she didn't come down from the clouds for weeks!

Kathy was the 'jock' of the family. She had gold medals in swimming (Her strokes in freestyle, back, breast, and butterfly were text book.),tennis (It took her three years to win a gold medal in singles against her yearly rival.), softball, (The team won gold medals at the state games for their division.), bowling (On September 26, 2002, she bowled a two game series of 298. That was the highest series for the over 100 average group during the 2002 bowling year for her 'Bowling Buddies' league.), and shot put (The high school coach came up with the idea and it worked!) Since her mother was an avid underwater photographer, she began lessons in SCUBA. She was a certified diver by PADI and had been in the oceans around Cozumel, Bonaire, and Kauai.

After graduation she worked for 7 1/2 years in food service for the local school district in Austin. She ran the commercial dishwasher and was responsible for the entire dishwashing room.

Her feet (consequently her posture) began to suffer because of standing on the hard surfaces in the kitchen areas. So, she joined a group of adult retarded citizens who did volunteer work for "full time" jobs. Kathy sorted food products at the local food bank. She assembled food packages for Meals on Wheels at the central kitchen.(She had a Meals on Wheels route. She was driven, but she delivered the food and took care of the clients.) At facilities for the elderly she cleaned wheel chairs and eye glasses. She went to the local botanical gardens where the group was responsible for the plants in the butterfly garden from seedlings to mature plants. She joined the local YMCA and exercised each day in the "machine room" and then swam from 30-45 min. before heading out to that days volunteer job.

She always had music therapy, or music lessons. She played the drums from 15-35 years old. (Her spells of practice on the full set of drums lasted for 2-3 hours!) She was encouraged to change to the piano where she learned to read music and play simple songs. Her dancing moves and skills continued to be developed by whatever was current on the TV.

She was very observant and her responsive language skills were brief and to the point. She did not suffer fools. She was retarded, not stupid.

The Joy and Love given/derived by/from this very special lady could not be measured. She enhanced the lives of all family members and amazed those who cared to stop and take the time to get to know her.

She began having seizures in 2017 and dementia followed closely behind. When she was born the projected life span for Down syndrome citizens was   approximately 32 years. She celebrated her 52nd birthday in September of 2020.

Her last years were enriched by help from many family members and friends. The family would like to thank Dr. Milton Haber, her primary physician; Christina Medina, her daily rehabilitation counselor; Iliana Chandarlis and Jerry Pena, her physical therapy instructors at Apollo Rehabilitation Center; and Karime Lopez-Montalvo, her everyday home helper for their professionalism, concern, friendship, and loving concern.

A celebration of her life will be held sometime in the future. Please send any memorials to Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, 2222 Welborn Street, Dallas, TX 75219.