Kathleen Given's Funeral Expenses

 

 

This afternoon, Thursday, June 2nd, our dear friend Kathy Givens passed away.  Kathy was an amazing woman, wife, sister, mother, and grandmother, but I knew her best as a teacher and friend. She was my mentor for 8 years at Mandarin High School, where she taught in the math department. Kathy absolutely loved teaching and would do anything for her students, just as she would have for her friends and family. She always put others before herself and never asked for anything in return.

Kathy had a serious fall at work this school year, which caused her to have severe pain and headaches. She saw many doctors and had to miss a lot of work, but it wasn’t until about five weeks ago that she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. The fall had caused a crack in her spinal cord, which the doctors said may have caused the cancer to spread very aggressively in such a short period of time.

Kathy had been in and out of the hospital for months and her medical bills are completely overwhelming. She continued working to support her family and out of concern for her students. She was worried about leaving her students with a substitute teacher who may not have been able to teach her upper level math courses. Kathy’s husband, Steve, has also been missing work to be with her in the hospital and is now left to pay for her unexpected funeral expenses.  

Kathy’s health deteriorated quickly and in the past couple weeks she had been unable to eat much. With all of the pain medication, her daughter, Jessica, said that Kathy would sometimes hallucinate. One day, Jessica came into Kathy’s room to witness her teaching a math lesson and calling on her students. This brought such a huge smile to my face! Kathy had a true gift in the classroom and will be missed by so many former students.

If you have the means to help, please consider giving towards Kathy’s medical and funeral costs. It would immensely lessen the burden on Steve and the rest of her family. Thank you!

Katie Davis

P.S. Funeral arrangements have not been made yet, but I will post an update when I have more information.
Also, Kathy's favorite color was purple so if you are unable to give financially, sharing this page and wearing purple in her honor would be a great tribute!