Kathleen C. Garner
February 15, 1945 – June 23, 2016
Born in Philadelphia in February 1945, Kathy lived her life in the pursuit of pleasure in the
moment. She received a psychology degree from Adirondack Community College. Maturing
over time, that which pleased her was refined from “self-service” to “serving others.” In her
lifetime, she fostered countless troubled teens and youth (two of which she adopted), operated a
ferret rescue, adopted three ex-racing greyhounds destined for euthanization, created a church
ministry for mature women, calling it “The Silver Belles,” and with failing health, traveled on
two church missions to assist others less fortunate. She cared for the elderly in their homes and in
a Fairfield, CA nursing home. She raised five children and assisted in the rearing of two
grandchildren. She immersed herself in dedication to the physically and mentally handicapped:
she worked in New York state’s Wilton Developmental Center for developmentally-challenged
youth and adults; she qualified as EMT for, first, Saratoga Springs, NY, then Wilton, NY and
later Solano County, California; She created and taught a program for AIDS education at
Positive Approach to Consumer Education (PACE), in Vallejo, CA; She worked with
developmentally-challenged adults in Hawaii’s Waimano Home Center on Oahu. Other, lesser
known, credits of compassion include: assisting a Ghanaian boy, Abdul Awal, in completing his
education and job training after the death of his parents; providing temporary room and board for
several friends recovering from substance abuse; certifying as a doula (a midwife’s counterpart)
for expecting mothers; and, for a short time, volunteering at Calvert County’s battered women
shelter.
After all this, Kathy asked her husband more than once, “What have I done with my life?” She
stillfelt inadequate for not accomplishing anything. She showed those who knew her the heart of
Jesus.
Even after all the acts of kindness we witnessed, Kathy was still very human. Those who were
close knew she loved a good scary movie, water flumes (but NOT roller-coasters), liverwurst and
onion sandwiches, mystery novels, fishing, almost any music, sunbathing, Diet Mountain Dew
and shopping.
She could bring a smile to anyone’s face, though. When told by her husband of his boat’s
changing home port from Vallejo, CA to Pearl Harbor, HI, she asked, “So how long of a drive is
it to Hawaii?” When returning home after one summer day at a mall, she was moving her head
and humming to the beat of an ACIDC tape her husband was playing in the truck. She became
red-faced when, in a car next to them at a red light, the driver was staring at her in horror – she
realized she had just blared out, “I’ve got big balls!”
Our funny, kind-hearted, beloved Kathy departed to be with our Lord on June 23,2016. She was
pre-deceased by her mother, Charlotte LaRane Dover, and her adoptive father, Sumner W.
Kitchen, and a son, John Lindstead. She is survived by her husband, Dale J Gamer; by three
sons, Dale Lindstead, Dean Lindstead (Lisa) and Jay Gamer. Kathy leaves behind two daughters,
Katie Lindstead-Grazier (Kenny) and LaRane Gamer. She is also survived by five grandchildren,
Sarah Trego (Johnathon Wathen), Mathew Trego, Jessica Thorn, Caleb Lindstead and Ashley
Lindstead; and two great-grandchildren, Dominick and Delilah Wathen.
Visitation
Services
Sunday, June 26, 2016
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