History

Kathy attended a statistics class in Spokane, Washington, on the evening of November 4, 1981. This was the last time that she was seen by more than one person in one place. Following her disappearance, concerned friends and family raised money for a reward fund and to hire a private detective. His work supplemented the efforts of the Spokane Police Department’s homicide squad. When the case remained unsolved after thorough investigation, the remaining funds were turned over to Kathy’s parents.

George and Patricia Rahe didn’t quite know what to do with the money. They kept it in a separate bank account, letting the interest accrue. They paid the taxes on the interest themselves, not wanting to use these funds. For twenty years, the funds grew.

On the twentieth anniversary of Kathy’s disappearance, the Rahe Family announced the formation of the Kathy Rahe Memorial Scholarship Fund. The money originally donated by Kathy’s friends and the people of Spokane, and increased by gathering interest over twenty years, formed the seed for the Scholarship Fund. Kathy’s parents and surviving siblings, her friends and family have all made recent contributions to the Kathy Rahe Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The scholarship was placed under the Campanile Foundation of San Diego State University for its undergraduate nursing students.