I'm happy we can bring you this episode with my friend David Garcia. He was married to Katie, a buddy from my ol' FUS days and a friend of my wife's for years. When she died, the light in the world got a bit dimmer, but her work wasn't done. From high school sweethearts to 10 years of marriage with 4 kids, a failed fight with cancer, and life without her, David shares all.

Katherine Lorine Garcia was born January 10, 1983, to Paul and Tina Hoffman. Kate was the second of three children along with her older brother, Joseph Hoffman and younger sister, Lisa Loftice. The family grew up going to the lake, and Kate loved the lake best of all places. It was for her a refuge, a retreat, and a second home. Weekends and summers at the lake were mandatory, for it was there that she could truly relax and simply enjoy time with her family.

On August 11, 2007, she married David Thomas Garcia, her high school sweetheart. In 2010, they welcomed their first-born, John David, followed in 2011 by Lilia Marie, Thomas James in 2013, and Andrew Paul in 2014. In February 2016, Kate was diagnosed with appendiceal cancer, and after a brief remission in the fall was diagnosed with stage IV in December. On April 5, 2017, while holding David’s hand, she entered into her heavenly rest.

Kate loved Jesus and his Church with a passion that could be felt by all who knew her. In public, she could be the life of the party or a quiet confidant, often switching from one to the other at will. Despite her gregarious nature and ability to befriend anyone she met, she was strongly introverted and maintained a healthy balance of time with friends and time alone at home with just her children and David. She loved watching TV and movies, and would often spend nights at home, snuggled on the couch with David, enjoying a show. She loved to write and kept a daily journal for most of her life.

Katie took her vocation to marriage and family life seriously, and worked tirelessly for her marriage and children. For Katie and David, marriage was like a garden: beautiful to see in bloom. And like a garden, it took work to keep it pruned, to pull out weeds, to water, and feed. Kate was always reading and researching ways to be the best mother she could be for their four children, and she was an incredible mother: kind but firm, gentle even when disciplining, and purposeful in decision making.

Throughout her illness, Katie wrote and shared her thoughts and reflections online, touching hundreds, even thousands of hearts and drawing them closer to Jesus. That was always her driving force - to bring others closer to God. While at Franciscan University, Kate joined a sisterhood of faithful women - Stella Mariae. Their household greeting, though short, seems fitting as she departs us for her final reward:

“It is the deepest desire of my heart to see you in heaven.”

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• Katie Garcia — This is my last blog post here.  I don’t know if I can express how much this blog has meant to me, and how much it  meant to Kate.  As I think back to when we decided to start a blog, it was more about survival than trying to reach people.  When she was first diagnosed in Feb 2016, our phones were buzzing non-stop with friends and family wanting updates.  I figured that it’d be easier to type it once and publish it than to answer dozens of calls and texts every hour.  Of course, this turned into so much more.  Your prayers and support have been truly humbling, and the stories you tell of people’s lives being touched by our story are inspiring.  Thank you for being a part of our lives, and for your continued prayers and support.