KATHERINE FAITH LINDQUIST
October 20, 1960 – September 1, 2005

Do not cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

Throughout twenty years of dealing with cancer and related physical ailments, Kathy lived with miraculous grace, courage, faith, and joy. She and her devoted husband, Walter Harper, made their home in Norris, Tennessee.

Kathy was an active member of Church of the Savior, United Church of Christ, in Knoxville, Tennessee. For many years she wrote a column for the church newsletter called “Earth Corner.” Her final column, printed the month before her death, was on the issue of mountaintop removal.

Kathy’s passion for the environment was evident in the many community and civic efforts in which she participated. She also possessed a deep commitment to the nurture of young people, both as a leader of Church of the Savior’s Senior High Youth Group, as well as a long-time Girl Scout leader.

Professionally, Kathy was a Civil Engineer employed by the Tennessee Valley Authority. In 2002, she received TVA’s Environmental Excellence Award for Environmental Protection and Stewardship.

At the age of 33, while facing a serious setback in her battle with cancer, Kathy wrote a “final statement,” which reads in part:

“I tried to be a supportive wife, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. I tried to be a good listener. I felt called to be an innovative researcher to create solutions to environmental problems. I tried to be an instrument of social change. I worked on social justice, peace and environmental wisdom; I believed that these were inseparable, interconnected issues. My favorite quote is from Margaret Mead who said, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.’”

At Kathy’s memorial service, the Senior Youth of the church read the following poem:

Cancer is so limited

It cannot cripple Love.
It cannot shatter Hope.
It cannot corrode Faith.
It cannot destroy Confidence.
It cannot kill Friendship.
It cannot shut out Memories.
It cannot silence Courage.
It cannot invade the Soul.
It cannot reduce Eternal Life.
It cannot quench the Spirit.
It cannot lessen the power of the Resurrection.

(Author unknown)

In the fall of 2005, shortly after Kathy’s death, members of Church of the Savior founded LEAF (Lindquist Environmental Appalachian Fellowship) as a testament to Kathy’s deep religious faith and her dedication to environmental stewardship.