Kathryn Lynne Penner

Kathryn Lynne Penner recently died at the Royal Alexandra Hospital after a two-week admission. She leaves behind her sister Carol Preston, with whom she lived for the last 30 years, brother-in-law Gordon, her beloved nephews, Stephen and Timothy and Timothy’s wife Michelle Nguyen.

Kathryn held great love and affection for her extended family and in turn will be dearly missed by her other siblings Ruth (Gordon) Peters, Sharon Penner (Larry), Ross (Dawn) Penner and her nieces and nephews Allison, Thomas, Claire, Ken, Joel, Jotham and Matthew. Kathryn was predeceased by her parents, Bill and Mildred Penner and her niece Emily.

Kathryn grew up in Manitoba and enjoyed going to the lake with family, summer car trips, music, art and spending time with friends and family. Despite living with Muscular Dystrophy, Kathryn was feisty and would participate vigorously in everything she tried. She had a keen sense of humor and a quick wit.

After high school Kathryn attended university earning a B.A. in Psychology. She then worked in a variety of administrative positions in Manitoba before moving to Vancouver to do graduate study in theology at Regent College. It was at Regent where her ability as a writer flourished, eventually leading to writing a semi-autobiographical book about her journey through illness and the health care system as someone with a complex medical condition.

In the 1990’s Kathryn moved to Alberta to join Carol and Gordon’s household, of which she was a cherished member. She journeyed through dark times as her disease progressed. Kathryn’s increasingly precarious health, mobility challenges and trying trips to hospital led to railing against God. However, over time she experienced deep spiritual healing. As the years passed she would refer to “God’s gift of stillness” and would sit outside unmoved in her wheelchair for extended periods enjoying God’s creation. Her stillness led to birds and small animals frequently visiting her, perching on her and her chair. She was amused when birds would pluck her hair to line their nests.

Kathryn’s still immersion in creation allowed her to become a keen observer of nature. In recent years this keen observation was evident as she began to flourish as a water colour artist. Her nuanced artwork often featured the creatures who regularly visited her and well captured their personalities. Kathryn regularly sold her art in various forms and donated proceeds to the Muscular Dystrophy Canada, which had assisted her in many ways.

Above all else Kathryn was a woman of deep faith, forged stronger through the crucible of her illness. In her final days she repeatedly assured us “It is well with my soul.” Over the years Kathryn shared her spiritual wellness with others through church prayer teams, private Bible studies, and her love and care for those around her: her family, caregivers and friends.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. It took at least a village to care for Kathryn. We want to thank family who would regularly make the trek to Alberta to provide support during hospital admissions, renovate our house, weed our garden, etc. We want to thank our circle of friends who saw Kathryn the person, not her disability, and who were always keen to jump in to support us and Kathryn. We want to thank the incredible, incredible team of in-home caregivers who have cared for Kathryn with such love and compassion. Finally, among all the many members of the health care professionals who assisted Kathryn over the years we need to single out, first, Dr. Janice Richman-Eisenstat who has both a deep understanding of Kathryn’s complex condition and whole hearted compassion for her patients, and second, Dr. Christian Fuchs, Kathryn’s GP, who also was singular in his understanding of Kathryn’s needs and in attending to her care. We could not have been able to care for Kathryn at home without these two uniquely insightful and committed medical professionals.

A Memorial Service will be held at Parkland Funeral Services in Stony Plain, AB on May 17 at 11:00AM. A small reception will follow at the Preston home. The Memorial Service will be video streamed live at this site. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Muscular Dystrophy Canada at www.muscle.ca