Kathleen Elizabeth Idoine

Kathy Idoine died peacefully at Valley Convalescent Hospital in Watsonville, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 19, 2022 at the age of 76.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, she is predeceased by her parents, Leon ("Bud") and Jane Idoine; and brother, Christopher. She is survived by her brothers, Michael and Josef Idoine; and nieces and nephews; as well as her son, Benjamin Carr (wife, Kathryn) of Oregon; and her two much beloved grandchildren, Hazel and Ash Carr.

Kathy had a very dynamic life. She grew up in Frederick, Md., enjoying horses and excelling at school. She graduated from Ohio State University with a BA in English Language. She then worked at the Library of Congress and received a fellowship to study in Guatemala before going on to get her advanced degrees from the School for International Training. She did her student teaching on the Navajo reservation in Window Rock, Ariz.

Kathy moved to Guatemala in 1974 where she provided training at the university to teachers of English as a Second Language, and taught at the Instituto Guatemalteco Americano, where she made lifelong Guatemalan and American friends. She married O.Vincent Sanabria in San Francisco and taught at San Francisco Community College. She was later a bilingual teacher in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District for over 20 years. She was an early adopter of computers in teaching and learning and shared her expertise with other teaching friends. She worked tirelessly to develop curriculum for second language learners with special needs. In her retirement she studied Italian in Luca, Italy as well as with friends locally.

Kathy was a fantastic mother to Ben, providing him with many opportunities to learn language, enjoy the outdoors, play music, travel to the snow, and other opportunities to expand his learning as he grew. She was also a loving grandmother to Hazel and Ash, always thinking of fun things for them to do when they visited or providing fun gifts for them.

Kathy had a liver transplant and survived over 30 years. She continued a life of giving to her wide circle of friends and family despite her many health related challenges. She was the kind of friend who was always there if a friend needed help. She also volunteered on the Santa Cruz Mounted Patrol continuing her love of horses. She was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Santa Cruz for many years.

Kathy will be greatly missed by her family and friends. A memorial will be held at 3 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2022 in Aptos at the UU Fellowship of Santa Cruz. If you are interested in participating please email Ben at kidoine.memorial@gmail.com.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the United Network for Organ Sharing or Save our Shores.

Published in The Pajaronian · September 30, 2022