Katharine 'Kathy' Mary Cloud, 78
Katharine "Kathy" Mary Cloud, 78, passed away Jan. 21, 2006, at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, surrounded by family and friends.
Kathy was born in Los Angeles on May 22, 1927, to William and Margaret Reed Lloyd. The family later moved to Illinois, where she graduated from New Trier Township High School in Winnetka in 1945.
After earning an education degree from the University of Montana in 1949, Kathy moved to Whitefish to begin teaching. It would be her home for the remainder of her life, except for work and a few brief stays in eastern Montana.
Kathy married John Cloud in 1952 and raised three children. She also taught in Whitefish and at St. Matthew's Catholic Church in Kalispell.
Always independent and adventurous, Kathy took up skiing in college. In the days before ski lifts, she would hike into the mountains looking for powdered slopes. She also participated in one of the first women's downhill races at Big Mountain, and enjoyed cross-country skiing and snowshoeing as well.
Beginning in the late 1970s, Kathy spent 11 years teaching in bush Alaska, including nine years in Koyuk. Her enjoyment and enthusiasm for the rural schools might flag towards the end of the long winters, but it bloomed anew during the summers, which she spent back in Whitefish.
After retiring from teaching in Alaska, Kathy taught for a year in Torreon, Mexico. She also continued her adventures, traveling to Ireland, Iceland and Thailand, where she rode an elephant.
White-water rafting was another passion, and she never forgot the trip she took through the Grand Canyon. One of her last adventures was to go sky diving in Alaska at the age of 75.
More than anything, though, Kathy's legacy is the family and friends she loved so dearly. Their lasting memory will be of how giving and caring she was. Until she got sick herself, Kathy always thought of others first, spending countless hours helping friends and strangers alike.
Kathy was preceded in death by her brother, William Reed Lloyd, and her mother and father, Margaret and William Lloyd.
She is survived by her children, Jim Cloud and wife, Lee, of Anchorage, Alaska; David Cloud and wife, Melissa, of Homer, Alaska; and Joann Cloud of Salt Lake City; her sister, Margaret Spence, and husband, Jim, of Wenachee, Wash.; granddaughters Jamie and Lacy Cloud; nieces and nephews, and a host of close friends.
A Christian wake service will be held for Kathy at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Austin Funeral Home in Whitefish. Friends who would like to share memories and celebrate her life are welcome to attend.
A memorial Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Whitefish, with lunch afterward. Father Roman will preside.
Donations can be sent to the St. Charles Church youth group or to the Home Health-Home Options Hospice at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.