Kate Kelly – A New Star in the Sky

Friday, September 14, 2012 15 Comments


Dancing with the Angels

This will probably be the shortest post I will ever write.

The Spirit of my dear friend and colleague
Kate Kelly left her body last night.

Since, along with more spiritually-based reasons, I have always assured students and clients that, “In heaven, everyone gets to have ADD,” we can be comforted that she is most certainly among those who understand her perfectly and appreciate her fully.

Among MANY other things, Kate is the co-author, with Peggy Ramundo, of the early ADD classic, since updated: You Mean I’m NOT Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?! 

It will take a bit more time for me to assimilate all that has happened since January, when we suddenly became aware, quite dramatically, that Kate was battling Stage-4 bladder cancer. 

Once I gather my molecules again, and when all of us on her Care Team are able to put together ANYTHING that doesn’t have to be done right this second, I will post a proper tribute to her life, along with information about Memorial Services, live and virtual.

Please let me know (below) if YOU have written a tribute and where to find it, and I will link mine to yours.

Thank you to those of you who saw the announcements posted on Kate’s CaringBridge and sent me beautiful messages of caring and comfort in the last fourteen hours.

God Bless Us, EVERY one,
Madelyn Griffith-Haynie

————————
About the Photo: Kate, in her role as an Interfaith Minister, officiating at the wedding of brother Doug at “the compound”  — the Virginia home of Doug and Deb Kelly-Chaison.  Her mother, bridesmaid Barbara Kelly is in the background.  Kate’s vestments were lovingly made by sister Bobbi Baletero, who hosted the retreat where Kate suddenly became too ill to return home to Cincinnati, along with the Care Team that flew in subsequently to be with Kate in Seattle.

I Am Not Gone

I am not gone
I remain here beside you
Just in a different form
Look for me in your heart
And there you will find me
In our love which forever lives on
In those moments when you feel alone
Look for me in your thoughts
And there you will find me
In sweet memories that burn strong
Every time a tear
Forms in your beautiful eyes
Look up to the heavens
And there you will see me
Smiling down from God’s glorious skies

by Injete Chesoni

Kate Kelly Related Articles
(each below opens in a new window/tab)

Memorial Posts of Others

PLEASE leave me a comment if YOU have written a Memorial Post (or find one not listed here), so that I don’t have to take time daily to search the ‘net to find links to post for ALL to share.

User-Generated Video Production Creates Interactive Experience for Nonprofit CaringBridge (prnewswire.com)

Filed under E2c. Community Support Tagged with , , , ,

About Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC
Award-winning ADD Coach Training Field founder; ADD Coaching field co-founder; [life] Coaching pioneer -- Neurodiversity Advocate, Coach, Mentor & Poster Girl -- Multi-Certified -- 25 years working with EFD [Executive Functioning disorders] and struggles in hundreds of people from all walks of life. I developed and delivered the world's first ADD-specific coach training curriculum: multi-year, brain-based, and ICF Certification tracked. In addition to my expertise in ADD/EF Systems Development Coaching, I am known for training and mentoring globally well-informed ADD Coach LEADERS with the vision to innovate, many of the most visible, knowledgeable and successful ADD Coaches in the field today (several of whom now deliver highly visible ADD coach trainings themselves). For almost a decade, I personally sponsored and facilitated seven monthly, virtual and global, no-charge support and information groups The ADD Hours™ - including The ADD Expert Speakers Series, hosting well-known ADD Professionals who were generous with their information and expertise, joining me in my belief that "It takes a village to educate a world." I am committed to being a thorn in the side of ADD-ignorance in service of changing the way neurodiversity is thought about and treated - seeing "a world that works for everyone" in my lifetime. Get in touch when you're ready to have a life that works BECAUSE of who you are, building on strengths to step off that frustrating treadmill "when 'wanting to' just doesn't get it DONE!"

15 Responses to Kate Kelly – A New Star in the Sky

  1. Christy B says:
    Tuesday, July 25, 2017 at 11:13 pm

    I did not know Kate but I am sorry for the passing of your friend. She would be so proud of how you have grown this blog and all you do to help others ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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  7. Jeanie Smith says:
    Sunday, September 16, 2012 at 7:06 pm

    Madelyn, Wayne and I are thinking of you and Peggy and Kate’s family and friends. We are so sorry! Your posts about Kate have given us a picture of what a wonderful woman she was. We are praying you will each experience a great measure of God’s peace and comfort and strength as you process all of this. Blessings, Jeanie and Wayne

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  8. Denslow Brown says:
    Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 12:20 pm

    Madelyn — I remember the shift in your energy when you announced to our OFI Class 4 that Kate was going to join the training. You seemed both lifted up and more confident or comforted for yourself — and for us, knowing what she would add to our experience and learning. You were so right and I thank you for leading me to her then. She’s been an inspiration, of course, but also a great leavener for me– an antidote to some of the rules and regulations we run into and create in our work and in the field of ADD coaching.

    I am unable to fathom your loss as I am/was several degrees removed from her close friendship orbit. Big hugs and lots of love to you and you reconfigure your world. And thanks so much keeping us informed these last months. Denslow

    Liked by 1 person

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    • Madelyn Griffith-Haynie, MCC, SCAC says:
      Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 6:59 pm

      Oh, Denslow – I miss you SO much. You are one of those great appreciators who are able to dissect and describe what there IS to appreciate and WHY it is valuable – to yourself, of course, but also to the bigger picture where most of us can self-identify.

      Selfishly, IT FEELS SO GOOD to be appreciated in such detail – to be seen in your mirror in such a positive light. That is one of the things that makes you a brilliant coach: you anchor change in the joy of positive accomplishment.

      Sadly (for me, because it is a fundamental piece of why we have so little time to connect anymore) you also have a rare ability to recombine the many things you learn from others to bring your own unique perceptions and uses to what you study – creating value IN ADDITION TO the immense value to be found in collaborative approaches.

      So, I lost a brilliant Coaching Lab Facilitator as the world gained a leading light in the training field.

      As you take time to express your empathy with the hole in my heart left by Kate’s passing, you remind me that there are many who are no longer available in my day-to-day experience of life who are still embodied. Thank you, my dear friend and colleague, for reaching out to me. Let’s plan a catch up call SOON, ok?
      xx,
      mgh

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      Reply
  9. keurawa says:
    Friday, September 14, 2012 at 4:23 pm

    I am sorry for your loss. She is really a star in the sky, keep looking up and smile!

    Liked by 1 person

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