Kathryn Louise Heylman

   My favorite photo of my mom is holding the hand of the fish SHE caught. Katie Heylman moved to the next chapter of her story on March 18, 2022.

   My mom grew up in a small town in Kansas. Her dad was an ironworker; her mom raised four kids during the height of the depression. During WWII, the Navy V-12 program sent a handsome young man from Spokane, WA, to the Univ. of KS in Lawrence. Warren Heylman met Katie Zimmerman. I’ve always laughed about a Navy man studying at the University of Kansas. My mom, a student at KU, took a train from Eudora, KS to marry that sailor in San Francisco in 1945. She had pneumonia when she got off the train and barely made it to her bare-bones simple wedding.

   Following the war, this Kansas girl ended up in Spokane WA, helping my dad, Warren Heylman, establish and manage his successful architectural practice for many years. She taught herself to snow ski at the age of 45. She would ride the freaking BUS to Mt. Spokane to take a lesson and practice. Good grief. She would knit on the bus ride. Memories of my mom, all in this vein, were engraved on my hard drive.

   Katie and Warren Heylman had two children; Bill Heylman and Ann Heylman Martin (David). Katie was predeceased by her son, Bill, in 2003. Katie leaves behind the loves of her life, Warren Heylman, and her daughter Ann Martin. She leaves behind four grandchildren, Stephen Martin (Emily), Michael Martin (Mallory), Christopher Martin, Kate Heylman, and four great-grandchildren.

   A simple memorial service has been held at Rockwood Retirement Community on the South Hill, where my mom lived with my dad. A private graveside service will occur this coming summer. The remembrances my dad and I would most like you to make are to your beloveds. Hold them close and never let them go. Someone else said that.

   The last words my mom was able to say to me were “Where are your doggies?” Donation remembrances with genuine gratitude for my mom can be sent to The Good Samaritan Fund at the College of Veterinary Medicine at WSU, to help others in need of specialized care for their pets.

   In addition, Hospice of Spokane was tremendously helpful at the end of my mom’s life.

   “and love’s a raven when it flies,” To her family in Kansas and her lifelong friends in Spokane, my dad’s and my gratitude from the bottom of our hearts. Hennessey Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

   My mom was a rabid fan of KU and GU round ball. She secretly had googly eyes for Roy Williams, Bill Self, and Mark Few … unbeknownst to my dad. Smiley face.

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