The most crazy, fun and outrageously irreverent woman who ever lived died January 17, 2014. Kathy Turner, born Kathy Obaitek.

She didn't want an obituary in the paper at that time and we promised we wouldn't publish one. Guess what Kath, your 10 year wish timeline just expired, and we now choose to put you on the pedestal where you belong in this memoriam.

Kathy was a fiercely loving and devoted mother who would have taken a bullet for her kids. When she and my wife were young mothers, she encouraged my wife to not get bogged down with the mundane tasks of motherhood, but to spend time with our babies, even if that meant they slept on a sheet that had a little spit- up in it. She took millions of photographs of her kids, Brandon and Allie, and sent us hard copies (before smart phones), and she created beautiful and complete, no exaggeration here, scrapbooks for them.

She worked endless hours of overtime to fund travel adventures for her children. She especially loved her 1st generation Polish dad, Glenn, even joining him on a 'where am I from trip' to find family roots near Krakow Poland. It turns out, their Polish name was spelled Obajtek.

Kathy's son Brandon was diagnosed with colon cancer at 22. She was Brandon's caregiver and advocate during his entire illness and treatment until his death at 25. She organized the chicest wedding dinner for her daughter Allie, even while she was fighting her own cancer. Kathy never really knew her own mom, which made her role as super-parent more remarkable. But then, Kathy was a very remarkable person.

She loved animals, including chimpanzees, so much she once attended a chimposium weekend to explore all things chimp.

Kathy worked as a meat wrapper at QFC for 30 yrs. At her last store in Wallingford, she meet her most famous customer, Dave Matthews, while his wife was going to school at UW. She sold him packaged meats but felt they had a special connection, at least those were her words.

What else can we say about a woman who brightened every room she entered, made everyone she touched feel special, and who could make you spontaneously laugh so hard you spit out anything in your mouth. Irreverent only starts to capture it.

That was Kathy. Allies mom, my sister, my wife's other sister. Leaving behind Allie, her beautiful daughter who is the living, breathing replica of all the things we loved about Kathy plus her own great mix of fun.

We will see you again someday Kathy, but for now, please know there is a huge ache in the hole in our hearts that you left behind, even 11 years later.

A special shout out to Maggie Noonan for holding Kathy and Allie in her arms 11 years ago as Kathy finally succumbed to the cancer that took her.