[the following is a translation of the obituary published in El Sol del Bajio]
Yesterday in this city of Celaya teacher Kathryn Hope Leppert Mack passed away. In addition to being a wife and mother, she worked as a teacher and participated extensively in the social work of the Lions Club; she is well known for her outstanding passion for education and her boundless love of science, as well as for her unending desire for learning.
Of North American nationality, she was born on the 11th of July 1941; she studied biology at the University of California, Berkeley; she married the Celayan medical doctor, Florencio Cabrera Coello, and she was mother of two children, Kathryn Cabrera Leppert and Robert Joseph Cabrera Leppert.
Her daughter remembers her as a woman who inspired goodness, beauty and confidence; always speaking the truth. Kay was a teacher of many generations of Celayans, for which she is fondly remembered, in addition to being an inspiration to many professionals for her dedication to education.
Many remember her for having been a very strong woman, but also very sensitive and generous, distinguishing herself by her spirit of service to those more needy, qualities which allowed her to earn the affection and respect of others: “she was a very good woman, very loved and above all, always positive,” say those who shared life experiences with her.
Leppert Mack passed away yesterday at the age of 77, at her home and in her bed, with her pet beside her; she had gone to bed, fallen asleep and in the morning at her normal awakening hour showed no vital signs.
She arrived in Mexico in the year 1963 with a group of catholic friends, who had come to this country to help the neediest of people here; the following year having arrived again and having met her husband, they married in 1964.
Her body was cremated and her ashes were transferred to the Sanctuary of the Virgen of Guadalupe, where family members, students and friends gathered; following which her ashes were committed to a crypt in the Church of Saint Francis. Rest in peace.
Yesterday in this city of Celaya teacher Kathryn Hope Leppert Mack passed away. In addition to being a wife and mother, she worked as a teacher and participated extensively in the social work of the Lions Club; she is well known for her outstanding passion for education and her boundless love of science, as well as for her unending desire for learning.
Of North American nationality, she was born on the 11th of July 1941; she studied biology at the University of California, Berkeley; she married the Celayan medical doctor, Florencio Cabrera Coello, and she was mother of two children, Kathryn Cabrera Leppert and Robert Joseph Cabrera Leppert.
Her daughter remembers her as a woman who inspired goodness, beauty and confidence; always speaking the truth. Kay was a teacher of many generations of Celayans, for which she is fondly remembered, in addition to being an inspiration to many professionals for her dedication to education.
Many remember her for having been a very strong woman, but also very sensitive and generous, distinguishing herself by her spirit of service to those more needy, qualities which allowed her to earn the affection and respect of others: “she was a very good woman, very loved and above all, always positive,” say those who shared life experiences with her.
Leppert Mack passed away yesterday at the age of 77, at her home and in her bed, with her pet beside her; she had gone to bed, fallen asleep and in the morning at her normal awakening hour showed no vital signs.
She arrived in Mexico in the year 1963 with a group of catholic friends, who had come to this country to help the neediest of people here; the following year having arrived again and having met her husband, they married in 1964.
Her body was cremated and her ashes were transferred to the Sanctuary of the Virgen of Guadalupe, where family members, students and friends gathered; following which her ashes were committed to a crypt in the Church of Saint Francis. Rest in peace.
[the following is a letter written by Florencio to Kay four weeks after her death]
KAY . . .
Te fuiste en el invierno, soñando en la primavera,
las camelinas y las azucenas se quedaron esperando
tu mano que abona la tierra con dulzura.
Hace cuatro semanas las hojas entristecieron,
Y las gemas se negaron a abrir su capullo.
Prisioneras del botón quedaron las flores,
en el frio y viento que corta la poesía.
Negación a seguir caminando por la vida,
suspenso que enmudece y que niega el desafío
a seguir descubriendo los misterios del futuro.
Domingo como hoy te fuiste sin avisarnos,
se te olvidó algo que dejaste en nuestros corazones,
la siembra del amor a nuestros congéneres.
Cosecha de valor frente a la tormenta,
calor que mitiga la desventura.
Miento. No . . . no te has ido.
El calor que hoy anuncia la primavera
revive en mí la dulzura de tus ojos verdes
que iluminan el cielo en alborada renovadora.
Mis lágrimas en tu nombre han fertilizado la tierra
y los retoños emergen retadores.
Tu alma entera da vida a las geranios y petunias
de semillas que un día tomaste de un jardín en Chile,
que resurgen con el hálito que desde el cielo envías.
Las respuestas están en la biología.
la ciencia que convertiste en savia reparadora.
No, no te has ido, sigues en tu generoso legado,
sigues en el campo de la ciencia y la ternura
que estimula el espíritu y alienta los corazones.
Sigues siendo la esencia de mi vida, pinchazo que estimula.
Eres suave perfume de alelíes, aroma de paso recién regado.
No . . . no te has ido, tú sigues entre nosotros.
Vives en cada uno de los que les trasmitiste tu sabiduría,
Vives en cada una de mis neuronas,
Vives en nuestros hijos, vives en nuestros nietos,
ellos son prolongación de tu vida.
La vida sigue . . . y tú sigues entre nosotros.
Florencio
Domingo 3 de marzo de 2019.