Obituary of Kathleen Meehan Dam

Kay was born June 5, 1957 in Battlecreek, MI, and passed peacefully on July 20, 2011 in University Place, WA, at the Franciscan Hospice House, following a brief battle with a rapidly progressing cancer. She is now free, a precious Butterfly, no limitations and restrictions. Heaven has gained a wonderful angel. There will be a celebration of Kay’s life from 4:00pm – 8:00pm, on August 18, 2011 at the Fircrest Community Recreation Center; 555 Contra Costa Avenue; Fircrest, WA 98466-6900. It will be an Open House format, so please join us when you can and stay as long as you can, or if you can only drop by for just a few moments, that would be great too. Kay was happiest when she could have her hands in the dirt. She loved to garden and grow her own produce, veggies & fruit. Knowing that she was getting quality food without added pesticides was truly a benefit of her hard work. Her other outdoor loves included raising chickens being with her Horse, Tia & her dog, Lindsey. Losing Tia & Lindsey were low spots in her life. She loved to ride, dressage was her style of choice. She was so at home when caring for Tia wherever she was boarded, and it was such a blessing when they found their home in Eatonville to be able to have Tia right there with her every day. Lindsey was the “heartbeat of the house”, picking up their spirits by bounding around the property and never failing to make them laugh. She loved to go to the beach with Ken, enjoying the beauty of creation. Seeing Mt Rainier from her living room window was also such a blessing for her. She said, even on a dreary day, the mountain always seemed to peek out around 4pm. Kay loved to quilt & sew, entering many items in the Puyallup Fair, bringing ribbons home on many occasions. We hope to be able to display some of her handiwork at the celebration of her life. She bought her first brand new sewing machine as a teenager and she definitely put it to good use. She mentioned that her mother might have been a little jealous when Kay bought that nice new sewing machine all by herself. Thinking of the Puyallup Fair, Ken & Kay also brought in their flowers to show and it turned out to be a great way to get in the fair for free. She was really an All-Around talent as far as the fair goes, entering items in the food competitions as well. Food, stuffed animals, flowers & quilts, much free entertainment & for a couple years, she even enjoyed working with the ladies in the scone booth at the fair. It was always something to look forward to in September. Kay was born in Battlecreek, MI, to James A & Elizabeth “Betty” Ann (Murphy) Meehan. Her father preceded her in death, her mother is currently in Dayton, OH. She has two brothers, Chris Meehan & his wife, Pat (nephew/niece – Ryan, Julia) of Melbourne, FL; and Paul Meehan & his wife, Alan (nephew - Seamus) of Houston, OH; and one sister, Louise Meehan of Dayton, OH. Also her Nephew, Brian Meehan, his wife Ellen & his son, her grand-nephew, Keagan of Dayton, OH. She was married to Ken Dam for 26 years, living in Lakewood, University Place and Eatonville and was preceded in death by Ken’s dad Don and older brother Don, but is survived by these family members: mother-in-law, Natalie Dam of Tacoma, WA; Sisters & Brothers-in-law: Vera Dam-Moors Williams & husband Al (Damion, Marijke, Dyllon) of Merritt Island, FL; Linda & husband Mark Hartley (Ryanna, Kyle & Angela and grand-niece, Vivian) of Puyallup, WA; Tim Dam (Joshlynn) of Tacoma, WA; Tom Dam & wife Geri (Jacob, Crystal) of Port Angeles,WA; Sharon & husband Kurt Strauss (Michele, Kurt Jr, Zach, Jailynn, Katie & Donyelle) of Spokane, WA; and Debi & husband John Glenn (Jordan, Shawn, Alex) of Tacoma, WA. With Kay’s sensitivities and allergies to chemicals, she enhanced her interest in researching the medical books, and whenever anyone had symptoms she’d find her interest piqued and see what she could find to help them out. She was a great patient advocate, going with her mother-in-law on many an appointment to ask the questions that could be overlooked. She was a wealth of information and we learned so much from her on what to ask and to always be informed fully before making a decision. Same thing with foods. Kay was such a healthy person, and as she learned so much about good food, she taught us all to make healthier choices. If we had a question about something, she’d find us the answer. Now, she did still love chocolate, so we all know that must be healthy, and her last indulgence was chocolate chip cookies – we had a cookie party, Trader Joes cookies, made with organic ingredients, of course. Yum!! We know there are so many wonderful memories out there, we encourage you to leave a favorite memory (or 2 or 3) of Kay in the guest book. Come back often and see what others have said. We hope that all Kay’s friends & family can join us for the Celebration of her Life on August 18th. Please mark it on your calendar, put a reminder in your cell phone, we’d love to be able to send an email reminder, but just don’t want to commit to that and forget it. If you’re interested, you can connect with Ken on Facebook. We know we can count on you to remember & join us. If you’d like to make a donation in Kay’s honor, a wonderful place that is committed to caring for horses that have been rescued or are in retirement is Horses R and R’d. Ken & Kay were able to let their Sadie go there a couple months ago and it has been such a blessing for Sadie. Their website is www.horsesrandrd.com Kay touched a lot of lives, if you know of someone who has moved away from the area, please send them this link to be able to share in the celebration of her life with memories. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.