In 1969 the miniskirted star Grade 1 teacher at Rippleton Road Elementary met an LLM student from New Zealand, a long distance romance ensued, and for 47 years Kathy starred as "Mum" to three wonderful girls and "Grandma" to four loving grandchildren.
She was the eldest of three children born in Windsor to her parents Ken and Gwen Hallsworth. The family moved to the new subdivisions in Don Mills in1956 as Ford Canada opened its new Oakville plant and Ken moved up the management ladder to become Vice President.
Kathy was vital and outgoing, an energetic force who found summer camps an ideal outlet for her energy. She attended Rippleton Road Elementary and Don Mills Collegiate, made lifelong friends at Bangor Lodge, and became a teacher...the 1967 drive across Canada to Vancouver with two special friends gave rise to many stories and a lot of laughter.
The teaching years saw more special friendships made, links never broken with trips to PEI, and Toronto especially for Mr. Davis's 100th birthday last September. White wine reunited the teacher friendships.
Kathy was supermom to her three girls, ensuring they passed through French Immersion school programs and individually developed their own special talents, learned good manners and were always impeccably turned out. New Westminster was home for a decade when she made many new friends especially at Queen's Avenue United Church. Now Crescent Beach has been home for 38 years, and she has been a second Mom to many of her children's friends, a bridge player, and inspired hostess to incredible Christmas, Easter and Halloween celebrations.
Over the years travel to New Zealand, London, California, Wisconsin, Iowa, Texas Hawaii, Mexico, Iran, Poland, Yugoslavia, South Africa, Holland, and much of Canada ensured the personal pillow racked up the air miles...even when ill health started to take its toll over the last decade, the travels continued, buoyed by the wonderful friends that ensured the indomitable spirit was nurtured at every visit.
A day after having her monthly manicure, a heart attack felled her. Though she made a little recovery the following day, she slipped away from us late at night, surrounded by family, love and tears.
Her friends around the world have been quick to praise the joy she brought to all she met. Kathy will be loved forever and her presence will be missed by all, but especially by her daughters Lindsay (Andrew), Julie, and Meghan, her granddaughter Kendall, her grandsons Eamon, Callum and Luke, her sister Barbara (David) and her brother Robert (Heather), the Crawfords in New Zealand, and her loving husband and best friend Robert Crawford...she was in those beautiful words of Bette Middler "the wind beneath our wings"...
A special thank you goes to the Ocean Park Fire Hall and Medics who revived her, and the ICU unit at Peace Arch Hospital who gave us that extra day. If you are able, Kathy would appreciate you making a donation to the Peace Arch Hospital Foundation.
She would not want the fuss, but there will be a celebration of life at the family home on Mother's Day, and another in Toronto on the 14th August 2018.
Condolences may be offered at www.victorymemorialpark.com