About Kathy

Kathryn Marie Rahe was born on October 14, 1957, the third child of George and Patricia Rahe. George was a graduate student at UCLA, a returned Korean War veteran. Patricia was a former secretary for the FBI. They had two older children, Theresa (Terri) and Diane. Their son Paul arrived in 1961, completing the family. Kathy was named after her great-grandmother, Catherine “Kitty” Marcella O’Neill, and given her mother’s middle name.

From the start, Kathy was a strong-willed and spirited child, afraid of no one, rarely daunted. On the occasion of her baby brother’s baptism, the priest bent down and said to her kindly, “Is that your baby brother?” The three year old scrunched up her face, made two fists and growled, “That’s MY baby brother and don’t you forget it!” Fortunately, the priest roared with laughter, while Kathy’s parents and older siblings stood red-faced with embarrassment. Kathy never was much impressed with authority.

Kathy’s scholastic career was bright from the start. She excelled in academics and made friends easily. When the family moved, Kathy, at age 8, quickly adapted to the change from Los Angeles to Carmel, parochial school to public.

From about age 10, Kathy knew she wanted to be a nurse. No one really knows how this occurred to her, as there were no nurses in the family at that time. But Kathy was sure and never waivered. Those who knew her well, and knew her determination, knew better than to try to dissuade her.

At age 12, Kathy was confirmed and took the confirmation name “Salome” after her maternal grandmother. She was now Kathryn Marie Salome Rahe.

By high school Kathy was taking courses to prepare her for nursing. She took the classes to become a Certified Nursing Assistant after school. The Certified Nursing Assistant was a new development at the time. Formerly “nurse’s aides” were trained on the job and often had little in the way of education or skills. The new CNA had an entry-level academic base and skills training. It was Kathy’s first step into the world of patient care.

Kathy immediately went to work at the Carmel Convalescent Hospital. She eagerly worked the 3PM to 11PM shift several days a week, while keeping up top grades at Carmel High School. Her sense of fun was a help to the elderly residents, as well as a coping device for working in what many found to be a difficult, depressing situation. For example, the strict dress code mandated white pants, shirt and shoes, but made no mention of socks. So Kathy shocked her supervisors and delighted her elderly patients by sporting the most outrageous 60’s style socks under her white uniform. Pulling up her pants cuffs and showing off the latest colorful sillisocks was one of the highlights of her day and no doubt her patients’ days, too.

Kathy worked exceptionally hard and was able to graduate from Carmel High in three years, instead of the usual four. She was very proud of that. Once at Monterey Peninsula College, she found herself one of the youngest students. With an October birthday, she entered college at age 16. There she tackled the toughest pre-nursing courses: chemistry, physiology, microbiology, anatomy, along with the usual lower division coursework. She used to meet her friends at the library at 7 AM to study, after getting off work at 11 PM the night before. She often studied with her best friend, Jeanne Cooper, of Carmel Valley. In fact, it was Kathy who originally suggested the idea of nursing school to Jeanne. Today Jeanne Cooper Steele is a top professional with thirty years of experience in clinical and administrative nursing.

After two years at MPC Kathy was ready to transfer for her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. She carefully researched schools inside and outside California. She finally chose the Inter-Collegiate Nursing Education program in Spokane, Washington.

There Kathy continued her unique brand of fun. For example, after a school potluck, one of her professors asked for the recipe of her sinfully rich chocolate bundt cake. Kathy was happy to oblige. She presented the professor with the recipe, translated entirely into metrics: 250cc of milk, 5cc vanilla, etc.

During the second year of the program Kathy got her license as an LVN and continued working during the school year. Her best friend Jeanne Cooper moved to Spokane to join her in the program there. They lived together in a lovely brick home. There Jeanne tried to reform her friend’s eating habits, which she called unbelievably atrocious. She had little success. After one lecture on the nutritional value of vegetables, Kathy retorted, “Anything grown in DIRT just HAS to be bad for you!”

Spokane’s natural beauty and small community feel made her comfortable after living in Carmel. She loved the snow and loved the skiing there.

After graduation Kathy worked for a time at Sacred Heart Hospital, then Deaconness Hospital. She and Jeanne worked together in the neonatal intensive care unit. While there Kathy took care of the premature daughter of Dr. Mary Noble. Dr. Noble remembered Kathy brought in decorations for the incubator. When the tiny baby died, Kathy hugged her physician friend and said, “She wasn’t here for long, but she sure did a good job while she was here.” Somehow Kathy knew what to say in the most heart-breaking situations.

On June 30, 1980, Kathy married local radio personality and disc jockey Brian Neil Gregory. They lived in a charming home on South Tekoa Street in Spokane, and added a fence and garden in their spare time.

Kathy’s career aspirations grew. She wanted to continue her education and pursue another degree. Jeanne and Kathy signed up for a graduate level statistics course. Kathy attended that class on the evening of November 4, 1981. She was happy to have gotten a B on a particularly difficult test the previous week.

That was the last time more than one person saw Kathy at the same time.

She was two weeks past her twenty-fourth birthday.

“She wasn’t here for long but she sure did a good job while she was here.”