We will miss you dahlin’

April 28, 2019. A day that will forever change Sawyer Street.

One of our beloved residents, Kathleen Stairs passed away after a long year of many medical issues.

Kathy came to Sawyer Street in 2002, when the house was bought from another agency. She would often say “I came with the house, it was a package deal”. Prior to this, Kathy spent her years growing up in Mount Vernon, Maine. She graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a degree in teaching. She went on to teach high school English for several years, before changing her profession to nursing becoming an LPN. Rightfully so, Kathy was a caregiver by nature. There wasn’t a day that went by where staff or residents didn’t experience Kathy’s caring personality. She was always welcoming to new faces in the house, often trying to give away candy she had in her room, or clothing that “would look better on you than me darling”, sometimes even trying to give away her money! (She would never take no for an answer, and said money would always find a way back to her purse) Kathy would call her mother twice a day just to check in. Kathy also made sure Mikey (her husband, “that lives inside me”) was well taken care of. He would get new socks, sandals, and on every trip to Temple Beth El in Portland a new Yarmulke, a hat worn traditionally by Jewish men.

Kathy marched to the beat of her own drum. Kathy would say many off the wall things, some being so memorable Sawyer Street staff wrote them down to reflect when we needed a good laugh i.e “Once I didn’t shower for a year because I needed to let my shield harden”. She spent many days listening to Klezmer music loudly, occasionally throwing in some Simon and Garfunkel to change it up. Shopping trips were one of her favorite activities she loved buying jewelry, blankets, and peach cigars.

Kathy touched the lives of everyone she met. At her service, there were high school classmates, neighbors, family, and friends. Each one of them had a wonderful memory about her. Her last days were spent surrounded in comfort and love from her family, Sawyer Street Staff, and hospice. She was laid to rest in Readfield, Maine on her family plot.