Ironically, Kat's brother, Dan, married a woman named Kathy. So his sister was Kathy Howard and his wife was Kathy Howard.

Kathy was several years older than Dan. I first met her at my house in Plymouth the summer after Kat and I started dating. I loaned a bedroom to her and Dan when they came out to visit. I remember being surprised by her striking, long, white hair.

Kathy was smart and friendly. During our big family trip out to the west coast a few summers ago, we spent a couple of days at their house. She and I talked for a couple of hours on a bunch of topics, and then she beat the pants off me at ping pong. It was fun -- the ping pong table was set up to play in the back yard, which really was the meeting area for the house. At least in the summer.

She had her hands full while we were there. Dolores had been there for a few days, then we showed up with our crowd, and Kathy's daughter was there with boyfriend and baby son. But Kathy took everything in stride, and we all had a very pleasant time.

We went to a nearby lake for a day, and Kathy took the kids out in the canoe. I think she realized she under estimated how much of a handful Joel and Samantha can be when you get them together. Put they paddled around for a while, and I think it was good for the kids.

I got the impression Kathy liked being a grand mom. She treated Andy (Darcie's boyfriend) with kindness and respect, and she clearly loved her grandson.

Kathy Howard died from leukemia on Friday. Even though we saw this coming, and I only met Kathy a few times, I'm very saddened. I really liked her.