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Post by FuzzyMutt on Jan 17, 2023 5:43:43 GMT
Rest in peace sweet lady. I’ve been trying to find words, something comforting.
I can only hope Kates fears were eased and her passing peacefully in her sleep was her own “winning” her battle. I think we instinctively associate being alive another day, with winning.
I have to believe that winning, or letting go, and no longer feeling alone, and scared is also winning.
I am so sorry that her family will experience her loss, but I can only imagine they are all very thankful and comforted by her memory.
Rest well Craftykitten.
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Post by lucyg on Jan 17, 2023 6:16:10 GMT
This is heartbreaking news. She will be missed. Thank you for letting us know.
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Post by putabuttononit on Jan 17, 2023 8:15:44 GMT
💔
We have lost so many lovely Peas 🥺
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Post by anniefb on Jan 17, 2023 8:44:15 GMT
This is such sad news. Thinking of her family at this awful time.
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Post by miominmio on Jan 17, 2023 9:00:07 GMT
While not unexpected, I am very sad to hear this.
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Post by Fidget on Jan 17, 2023 11:30:49 GMT
I am so sorry, prayers for her and her family
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Post by workingclassdog on Jan 17, 2023 15:23:38 GMT
So sad to hear... RIP Kitten.
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Post by mikklynn on Jan 17, 2023 15:32:29 GMT
Well, damn it. She was well loved here. I had a lovely DM interaction with her recently.
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Post by essiejean on Jan 17, 2023 15:33:14 GMT
heartbreaking - prayers for comfort and strength for her family
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Post by danor98 on Jan 17, 2023 15:33:16 GMT
Such a sad update. Prayers of healing for her family.
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Post by amp on Jan 17, 2023 15:46:06 GMT
I am so sorry to read this. May she rest in peace, free from suffering.
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Post by cat2007 on Jan 17, 2023 17:03:48 GMT
I hope it was peaceful. She was so brave.
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Post by floridagirl on Jan 17, 2023 17:15:35 GMT
So very sad. Prayers to her family.
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~Susan~
Pearl Clutcher
You need to check your boobs, mine tried to kill me!!!
Posts: 3,259
Jul 6, 2014 17:25:32 GMT
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Post by ~Susan~ on Jan 17, 2023 17:26:42 GMT
Oh no....I came here this morning to check and see how she was doing. Godspeed Kate
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Post by bessieb on Jan 17, 2023 17:32:12 GMT
I am so sorry to hear this. She passed on the day of my mums funeral- I hope my mum is there to help her on her way
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Post by annie on Jan 17, 2023 17:48:32 GMT
Her last post broke my heart. I hope her passing in her sleep was as peaceful as it could be. Sending out good thoughts to her loved ones.
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Post by tryingtobewise on Jan 17, 2023 19:25:41 GMT
Oh no. Rest In Peace Craftykitten.
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Post by welshjenni on Jan 17, 2023 19:29:55 GMT
Such sad news. I’m pleased her husband and her mother were with her at the end. May she rest in peace xxx
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Jili
Pearl Clutcher
SLPea
Posts: 4,366
Jun 26, 2014 1:26:48 GMT
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Post by Jili on Jan 17, 2023 19:30:04 GMT
This is terrible news. I am so, so sorry. Thank you for updating us.  |
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Post by agengr2004 on Jan 17, 2023 20:12:00 GMT
I hope her passing was peaceful and she's at peace.
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Post by JoP on Jan 17, 2023 20:51:39 GMT
Kate's husband has shared these words about his love
We lost Kate on Monday Morning.
The bee business was always our Husband and Wife team. I often found it quite fun how people never quite got the size of our business right: I think if you saw me shambling round with holes in my beesuit you thought maybe I just had a couple of hives and so people would message “have you maybe got any honey to spare” when in fact our yield is measured in the tons these days; meanwhile other people’s first impression was the wonderful graphic design and presentation of our business that Kate did and got the idea that we were some big professional company and would send job applications when in fact we were just a husband and wife doing their best out of a terraced house a little bigger than two shoeboxes stacked on top of each other.
I had been beekeeping a few years as a hobby when we first met a decade ago. Kate first came just to find a new muse for her photography, but was quickly as fascinated by our bees as I was. An avid reader, her knowledge quickly surpassed mine as she absorbed everything she could about the craft. She was very much a missing piece to me, and many of the complexities of growing our business would have not been possibly without her eye for detail and her drive.
She didn’t use the terms herself, but she had already won her first battle with cancer before we first met; and one of the many things that I first admired so much was her determination to spend her life well on the things that brought her joy, and not to waste her time in activities done just because you “should”. While being a planner and preparer, she also embraced the risk and the reward of starting a new business venture and never left opportunities unexplored out of fear.
When her second cancer diagnosis came unexpectedly in 2017, it was very dark for her, but she faced it with determination. She always chose the path with the best chance of her survival and embraced every opportunity to do some living between treatments. Even though her journey (another term she didn’t enjoy) progressed to where a cure was not possible and treatment was about buying time, 2022 was without doubt the best year of both our lives.
I’d be understanding if for some of our customers learning all this is a surprise. While we never concealed it, Kate was determined that to try to cash in on it would be ugly. She was a person with a lot more to define her than “just” a cancer patient, and she didn’t want our business to be thought about in those narrow terms too. While the cancer showed her very great endurance, she would very much want to be remembered for her kindness, her creativity, her strong sense of justice, and her protectiveness of those she loved, who were many.
When it became clear that she didn’t have long left, she was deeply saddened that she wouldn’t see some of our future dreams come to fruition by my side, but she impressed upon me that it was her wish for me to press on. She spent her time making sure that we had excellent processed and systems for me to keep working to ensure that our business would function even without her.
I post all this not for sympathy or to drive a few more orders, but because I know how highly many of you regarded her and to reassure you that the service that she set up and took so much pride in will carry on without her. Today around all the unpleasant admin that arises in these times, I am preparing a round of deliveries using all the forms and checklists she left me; and honestly I welcome the work to keep me occupied.
Her last couple of days were spent at the Hospice, who were at great lengths to ensure that she was comfortable, dignified and peaceful. Her mum and I was with her and I was speaking softly to her as she slept when she left us. I’d do anything to have had more time, but I am unendingly grateful that she was cared for in a place that allowed her not to die in fear and pain. In the coming months I will be looking for opportunities to bless the Hospice and their excellent services, and while I’d never use our grief to cash in for our business, I will from time to time use the platform she built here to support them.
Thank you all so much for your love and the kind messages I’ve already received. Materially I am fine and have family around to ensure all the physical help these times require is taken care of.
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oh yvonne
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,064
Jun 26, 2014 0:45:23 GMT
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Post by oh yvonne on Jan 17, 2023 20:57:18 GMT
Okay now I'm just done. Oh gosh, what a beautiful post. Thank you for sharing this with us JoP |
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Post by katyscrap on Jan 17, 2023 21:01:23 GMT
Rest in peace, Kate. You will not be forgotten.
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Post by MichyM on Jan 17, 2023 21:05:43 GMT
JoP, thank you for sharing. He sounds just as lovely and kind as she was. Still so sorry that we’ve all lost her….
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inkedup
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,837
Jun 26, 2014 5:00:26 GMT
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Post by inkedup on Jan 17, 2023 21:12:06 GMT
They really treasured one another.
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Post by Patter on Jan 17, 2023 21:14:50 GMT
Oh my what a beautiful post JoP. Thank you so much for sharing that with us. |
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,912 
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Post by CeeScraps on Jan 17, 2023 21:25:15 GMT
What a beautiful post. I'm sad as I enjoyed her posts.
Your plan to continue without her is amazing. Prayers that everything works the way in which you want it to.
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The Birdhouse Lady
Drama Llama
Moose. It's what's for dinner.
Posts: 7,390
Location: Alaska -The Last Frontier
Jun 30, 2014 17:15:19 GMT
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Post by The Birdhouse Lady on Jan 17, 2023 21:33:24 GMT
That was simply beautiful and you can hear his love for her through his words. It brought me to tears. I wish him peace.
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Post by mellyw on Jan 17, 2023 21:35:25 GMT
What an absolutely beautiful tribute that left me smiling thru the tears. Thank you for sharing, JoP
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RedSquirrelUK
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,917
Location: The UK's beautiful West Country
Member is Online
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Post by RedSquirrelUK on Jan 17, 2023 21:38:24 GMT
Now I'm properly crying.
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