In Memory

Kathy Caple

Kathy Caple

Katharine Anne Caple (1962-2003) Kathy passed away due to a heart condition. She and her dad had gone to China Camp early Thanksgiving morning for a sunrise bike ride. It was during this bike ride that Kathy collapsed.

Kathy left behind a 5 year old daughter.  She attended Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, made a living knitting sweaters and had lived in Mendocino and later Astoria, OR.




 
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04/28/09 11:21 AM #1    

Paige Moore (Peter)

In the 5th grade, our class put on a production of "The Wizard of Oz." NOBODY would try out for or wanted the part of the Wicked Witch. At the very young age of 10, Kathy saw the creative possibilities, challenge and fun of such a roll and took it on with gusto!

I remember one day laughing uncontrollably with Kathy, Mrs. Gaskill (our teacher) and the rest of our classmates... Kathy was REALLY getting into her role during a reading.

It was the scene where the Wicked Witch is melting and her line read, "Ooo EEE Ahhhh, etc." (I'm a little hazy here but I'm thinking there was a typo in the script...and it might have read, "Ooo, EEE, Ahhh, Ect.) LQTM.

So as Kathy did her best to appear like she was melting, she cried the words over and over, "Ooo EEE Ahhh, Ect Ect Ect Ect Ect Ect."

Finally, when Kathy had finished her amazing scene, a classmate congratulated her, "Great job, Kathy!" And then sheepishly asked, "But what was that last word you kept projecting over and over?"

Kathy showed everyone her script (with the typo) and thoughtfully declared, "Oh my, the 'word' I believe should be ETC." [as in et cetera]

I’ve never seen a teacher laugh so hard in my life...Everybody joined in (especially Kathy)...laughing until our stomachs ached. We just couldn’t stop laughing…

Looking back, I marvel at Kathy's strength of character, individuality and foresight. God Bless you, Kathy, and thank you for the lovely and fun memories you graced us with.


04/28/09 12:42 PM #2    

Denise Bei (Walsh)

Kathy and I spent a lot of time together in High School. We both had the love of horses and roller skating. We spent many weekends roller skating at the rink in San Rafael. We even made a few trips to roller skate in Golden Gate Park. Some of us have fond memories of her VW Bus. The wooden bench in the back was quite a ride when she would turn corners. We could not stop laughing.

I always envied how bright Kathy was. She was very excited when she got excepted into Lewis & Clark College. What I would do now to give her a hug. God Bess you and Galen.

04/30/09 12:57 AM #3    

Jean Amon

Oh yes, the wizard of oz play. she played that role very good. her voice captured it. i was the oz and still remember doing that play. i hope to find a picture of her in action. Kathy was a really nice person and she was one of the Dixie (elementary) chicks. God Bless

04/30/09 01:18 AM #4    

David Okubo

I don't remember exactly how I met Kathy, but I do remember becoming great friends with her very quickly. Our personalities were so different, yet we somehow clicked and related to each other so easily. I have a lot to thank Kathy for. She was a lot more daring than I was and because of her, I TPd my first house, drank my first Henry Weinhard and cut my first class. She was always getting me into some kind of trouble and it was a lot of fun.

In Sophomore year, one of the most vivid memories I have is of the night we drove in Kathy's orange VW van (dubbed the Great Party Machine) -- the one she drove like a maniac -- to TP Denise Bei's house on Tamarack. I think it was me, Kathy and Terri. Somehow, we made too much noise and the front door opened. We only had time to duck behind a car before Denise's dad came running out. Of course, he busted us because the three of us were lamely hiding behind the smallest car on the block. We tried to escape by running down the street and hiding in some bushes. Unfortunately, some guys drove by in a truck and thought it would be funny to draw attention to us by honking. They even got out of their cars and chased us down the street. It was an insane night. Kathy wrote about it in my yearbook later.

In Junior year, Kathy, Terri Slattery and I were always getting yelled at in Trig class because Kathy was always cracking jokes and making us laugh. I don't think I learned a thing in that class.

In Senior year, I was the yearbook editor and able to pretty much get out of class whenever I wanted. I can't tell you the number of times I forged her father's signature to get Kathy excused, as well. We would go to Northgate Mall, grab brownies at Mrs. Fields and hang out by the fountain. Eventually, we got busted by the principal, but it was fun while it lasted.

Kathy used to get a real kick out of showing up at my workplaces to give me a hard time. I was pretty busy in high school running between both Hungry House in Northgate (previously Bumbleberry Pies) and Swensen's Ice Cream at Montecito Shopping Center in San Rafael. Kathy and our other friends would show up during my shifts to terrorize me with, "Excuse me, sir, but I asked for nuts!!" and "Excuse me, sir, but this glass is dirty!!" She loved to see me squirm.

After graduation, Kathy went off to Oregon to attend Lewis & Clark. I still remember how excited she was when she received the acceptance letter. Years later, she lived in Northern California, but later moved back to Oregon. When she died, she left behind a little daughter, Galen, who has since been adopted by Kathy's brother, Thomas, also a graduate of TL and a Track athlete who still holds a school record.

As Denise says above, I wish Kathy were here so I could give her a hug. Kathy was one of those truly authentic people you rarely meet -- and, she will be greatly missed by all of her friends.

David Okubo
04.29.09

05/24/09 03:57 AM #5    

Parland Johnstone

I would like to thank David Okubo for telling me some wonderful things about Kathy that I didn't know until David and I attended San Francisco State.

Kathy honored me by being my date to the prom. She was a beautiful girl and became an even more beautiful woman. She was also a truly gentle, dignified and proud woman, and it is cruel that nature stole her from us.

The people who knew her are the fortunate ones, they experienced her love and friendship. I lost touch with her after high school, so I can only hope that she found the love and happiness she deserved during her short stay on this earth.

- Parland

06/29/09 06:14 PM #6    

Heather Mackay (Kuehl)

kathy and I both loved theatre, so, we did what any normal, self-respecting actresses to be would do, we took an acting class together at college of marin. at the time, she didn't have her VW bus, but she had a Gremlin, I think it was, scary thing, and even scarier to be in the car with kathy at the wheel; she was a wild driver.

this led to our going to england together with her family. we had a wonderful and terrible (we were cooped up together for a long time so fought like sisters every now and then) time together... this was an amazing trip. I had my first french kiss (with a 28 year old man); we saw othello at the RSC; blenheim palace; we were able to drink lager at the pub because the drinking age was so young; we went to a punk rock club that scared the bejeezus out of me, very hard core, called the oranges and lemons; and we explored all over oxford and london.

later, ironically, I moved to oregon to pursue my master's degree at lewis and clark college. kathy was selling beautiful knit hats, scarves and sweaters at various art fairs in and around portland. Her mother had a spinning wheel, so kathy learned about yarns and knitting from when she was very young. She knew what she was doing. Then I got married and had children and I lost track of her... I wish that I hadn't. I had meant to get back in touch with her.

I believe she lived the life she wanted... I wish it had been a little, a lot, longer.

07/08/10 10:18 AM #7    

Paige Moore (Peter)

From: Robert Eisler
Email: rob.eisler11@gmail.com

Hi. I'm terribly sad to see that Kathy Caple has passed away. I only met her briefly while I was travelling in Europe in late 1982/early 1983 and she was a beautiful girl who, having read the other contributions of classmates of hers, became a beautiful woman. I lost contact with her shortly after returning to Australia. I only found your site by chance using Google to type in names of people I've met over the years. Kathy obviously lives on in many people's memories.
Best regards,
Robert Eisler

12/14/11 02:38 PM #8    

Lee Ann McCorkle (Millar)

I lived up the street from Kathy, and the thing I remember best about her was her love of horses.  We both had horses up in the Lucas Valley hills at around the same time (12 or 13 years old, I guess), and sometimes we would ride together.  She had a big red horse named Apple and I remember spending an afternoon with her and her dad, constructing a wooden bridge across a seasonal creek so she could access her paddock with dry feet in the winter.  The bridge was made of scrap lumber but was quite deluxe, as I remember it – almost a miniature Golden Gate (but out of splintery wood).  I’d go back to walk in those hills as an adult, and I remember that bridge was still standing for a long time.  Kathy had a big heart and a great imagination.  Blessings to her family.


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