"Today I took out my guide and notebook from my pilgrimage to Santiago in 2001. Found a foto of Kate, googled and learned she passed away. I am sorry for your loss and very sad. I met Kate in Atapuerca, outside Burgos. Her feet were so sore she could barely walk. I accompanied her into Burgos and to the Hospital Militar. There she was promptly told to stop walking and to let her feet heal. We have walked some stretches together after that but at Cebreiro she had to quit. Unexpectedly we met again three days later in Santiago. There we said goodbye. I remember her fondly, her strength, her spirit, her smile and I am sorry for having lost contact and the opportunity to reminisce. Marinus."
In loving memory of
Kathleen Lauren Lounsbury
August 9, 1955 - October 26, 2013
Kate Lounsbury was born in Concord, Massachusetts to Barbara (Frink) and Warren Bean. She passed away on October 26 in Kirkland, Washington after several months of battling b-cell lymphoma.
Kate lived most of her adult life on the West Coast in San Diego and the Seattle area, with several extended visits to France, Spain, Mexico and Eastern Europe. As a dancer and dance instructor, she graduated Cum Laude in 1987 from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and spent the next 12 years in San Diego as an accomplished and highly lauded modern dancer, working with a variety of professional troupes including Malashock Dance and Company, Patricia Sandback & Dancers, Three's Company and Dancers, the San Diego Dance Theater, Terry Sprague, and she was a founding member and co-director of Sirius 11 for a few years. Eileen Sondak, reviewing for the Los Angeles Times, wrote in October 1989: "After a stunning opening performance at Sushi on Friday night, a lot of die-hard dance buffs were left wondering why it has taken more than a decade to discover this Kate Lounsbury - the one with star quality."
She married Dan Fiolkoski in 1982 and the couple eventually moved to the Seattle area in 1990 where she continued work as a Dance Teacher and Educator and as a Dancer, working with organizations such as Strong Wind Wild Horses (Shirley Jenkins, Artistic Director), the Cornish College of Arts, the Creative Dance Center, and the Deborah Birrane Dance Company. She eventually earned a CLMA - Master's Certification as a Movement Analyst in 1999 and toured with Deborah Birrane Dance in 2000 as a project director for performances in Yugoslavia. After her marriage ended in 1999, Kate continued her involvement in the dance community while moving into the business world for the next ten years as office manager, HR manager, administrator, and organizational development specialist. She earned a Masters of Arts in Applied Behavioral Science in 2002 from the Leadership Institute of Seattle and worked for companies including Connell Design Group and HDR Engineering.
Her creativity and skill in working with design organizations led her to move into the non-medical care-giving industry beginning with in-home care for local Seattle artist William Cumming for over a year until he died in 2010, following which she provided care services for many clients through Visiting Angels, Home Instead, and With A Little Help.
When she learned that her cancer was terminal, Kate qualified herself under the State's "Death With Dignity" act so as not to prolong the agony of her final chapter in her life's story. This was a typical decision from Kate: she had the courage and integrity to confront the reality of her situation, plan for it in great detail, and develop her support team and family to understand what she needed to complete her last "project" in this world.
She received the medicines from Compassion & Choices on a bright Saturday morning, and in the presence of six friends who had been part of her support team, she quickly fell into a deep, peaceful sleep and left us at 11:05AM.
She is survived by family members including two brothers (Steve Bean and Bill Lounsbury), three sisters (Marcia Depillo, Jan Manseau, and Barbara Lounsbury-Roussouliere), and several nieces and nephews. Kate's mother, Barbara Bean, predeceased her by nine days on October 17.
A memorial/celebration event is planned for Saturday, December 7th aboard a Bainbridge Island bound State Ferry that will be leaving Pier 52 at 801 Alaskan Way in Seattle at 9:35AM. In line with her final wishes, the ferry will stop briefly so that celebrants can place two biodegradeable urns into the Puget Sound waters - one with Kate's ashes, and one with her mother's ashes.
On January 24, 25, and 26, 2014, the dance company currently directed by Shirley Jenkins (DanceJENKINSDance) will perform a concert of dances dedicated in Kate's honor. The performance will be held at the Cornish Playhouse at the Seattle Center.
Kate was great friend and colleague to many people in the dance and business worlds, and she will be dearly missed by both friends and family.