Kathy Garwood (DeMars), of Clarkston, entered heaven on Nov. 22, 2023 at the age of 80, following a stroke.
She was surrounded by her loving family as she entered into the kingdom of God/her next chapter.
Kathy started out life in Detroit and the family lived for many years in Marine City. She was the third child of Charles and Joann (Hogan) DeMars. She married her husband Stan in 1968, living an adventurous and loving life for 55 years together, raising their three children, traveling and giving back to her community.
As a young girl, she & her younger brother Tom fashioned an “airplane,” constructed of a heavy timber fuselage and lumber wings. Luckily for all of their future family, they decided to test out the airplane before piloting it. Launching out of the top floor of their barn, the pair was concerned they would lose the airplane in the distant pond. When “launched,” of course, the construction hit the ground immediately below the hay door and broke into pieces. This was a favorite memory of hers from childhood.
For those lucky enough to encounter Kathy, she was the most empathic and compassionate person they knew. She helped students at Sashabaw Junior High School when her children were young, worked as a chaplain at Pontiac General Hospital, facilitated suicide survivor/general loss groups, grief therapy and aftercare coordination at a local funeral home. She provided individual counseling, and, along with her husband Stan, founded the North Oakland Disaster Relief Team (NODRT) in 2001. NODRT provides restoration and relief services to areas ravaged by natural disasters all around the country for individuals and families who are uninsured or underinsured.
Additionally, she was a board member of Christmas in Action, longtime member of the Optimist Club and member of St. Daniel’s Catholic Church Folk band.
Kathy was honored to receive “Citizen of the Year” by the Clarkston Chamber of Commerce in 2002 for her many contributions in service to others.
Wife of Stan, mother of Karin (Steve) Mitchell, Brian (Sherry), and Gordie (Tammy), grandma of Reilly, Annika, Nathan, Alicia, Kyrie, and Fiona.
Visitation is tomorrow, Nov. 30 at Lewis E. Wint & Son Funeral Home, Clarkston from 3-5 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. Rosary prayers 4:30 p.m. and a sharing time at 7:30 p.m. Funeral mass is Dec. 1 at 11 a.m. at St Daniel Catholic Church, Clarkston with visiting directly at church at 10 a.m.. Graveside service Lakeview Cemetery, Clarkston.
Memorials may be made to North Oakland Disaster Relief Team (nodisasterreliefteam@gmail.com) or Solanus Casey Center (solanuscasey.org/donation).
Online guestbook wintfuneralhome.com.