We met when we were just out of college working at our first “grownup” jobs in Chicago. We’d joined our church choir, which was planning a concert of Handel’s Messiah later that year, and Cathy and I bonded over long rehearsals in the ornate sanctuary of St. Clement’s. 

It was the springtime of our lives, and the possibilities seemed limitless. Would we stay in Chicago?  Would we marry and have children? Would we stay in touch?  No, yes and absolutely. We never missed Christmas or a birthday. Until this year. 

When May 31 arrived and there was no card from Cathy, I was worried. I learned a few weeks later that she passed away in April from the breast cancer she’d been fighting for several years. 

Cathy was loving and cheerful to the end: a devoted wife, mother, daughter, colleague and friend who is missed and mourned by all who knew her. Today, August 31, is Cathy’s birthday. I can’t send her a card — but I can write her this post. Happy Birthday, Cathy! I will never forget you!