From the Heart
She has the voice of reason. She has the heart of a servant of the people. She has wisdom that comes from having lived amongst the real people. She has the discernment that has weighed the hopes of people with the reality of the facts.
Most of all, she is my friend.
Kathy Richardson Williams and I met in third grade. Miss Lunsford was our teacher at First Ward (where North Elementary now stands). I will forever call her Kathy Kreag. The biggest common denominator between us was the fact that we were “onlys”. No sisters. No brothers.
We needed someone to come along beside us and be our sounding board, our cheerleader and our protector. Mess with either one of us and you will deal with the other one.
Kathy and I have always shown up to be there for each other at a moment’s notice. She has always been one of the first people I call whenever life brings confetti or teardrops.
And so it was Tuesday night about 11:00 when I got the text from her saying she would not be running for the 29th District State Representative position. My first thought was who can fill her shoes? No one cares or works any harder for the state of Indiana or the people she represents.
The decisions that she has made have not always been popular but she always did her due diligence to weigh out the pros and cons as well as the consequences of her decisions.
Whenever she was out and about for a relaxing evening with friends, she always listened when approached by someone who wished to share their opinion of a matter that may or may not be something she had any control over . . . but she listened.
My kids have always called her Aunt Kathy. Funny thing is that when she married my daughter-in-law’s uncle, she really did become Aunt Kathy.
Kathy sat with my mother at my wedding . . . because that’s where a “sister” would be sitting. Kathy actually officiated the wedding of my daughter and her husband.
Kathy is the real deal. She will be missed at the statehouse. Hopefully, the people of Hamilton County will put her back in the Clerk’s office where she has been since, well forever.
We often laugh that we have lived within five blocks of each other our entire lives. We are as hometown as it gets. Even more funny is that fact that we have cemetery plots that are just down the drive from each at Crownland Cemetery.
We are simply sisters from other mothers.
Kathy will have more time to be at ballgames with her husband, Perry. She is the ultimate Noblesville Millers fan. Kathy now has two bonus daughters and several grandsons. And she has this sister/friend that may get to see her more often.
Kathy will get to spend more time in her backyard which looks like the cover of Garden Beautiful. Kathy has a green thumb and her pond and patio and yard prove it.
Thank you Kathy for forty-four years of friendship. Here’s to many more. From my back porch to your back patio we will grow old together. And yes, let’s always find time to smell the roses . . . or just admire the sunflowers!