A Dedication to the UN-forgettable Life and Spirit of Käthe

Late in the afternoon on June 1, 2019, Kathryn Dana Unruh (Kathy) peacefully passed away with a view of the Rocky Mountains out of her hospital window.

Kathy had previous health issues that manifested in late April and resulted in her passing.

She is survived by her mom, Ruthmary Unruh and her partner, Ernie Gregoire, (Grand Forks, ND), her dad, George Unruh, Jr. (Gilbert, AZ), sisters Susie (Unruh) Garcia; husband Dave (Discovery Bay, CA) and Deb Unruh; husband Tim (Elk River, MN), Uncle and Aunt, Paul and Eileen Unruh (Orinda, CA) and cousins Kim (Unruh) Hamilton; husband Greg, daughter Clara and Joe Unruh; wife Sarah, children Cooper and Quinn.

She is preceded in death by Great Grandpa Edgar Berg who named her “Kathy the Charmer” – Grandparents George and Elaine Unruh, Grandma Maude Arnason, and Great Uncle Roy Thorsgard. (Edgar’s wife Louise and Maude’s husband, Arnie passed away before Kathy was born)

Besides being called “Kathy the Charmer” by Grandpa Berg – she also went by “Kath”, “Kathmo” and “Un” by her sports team friends, and her mom’s favorite Käthe (Kate – ah =  the German pronunciation of her name) And in the medical device / engineering world she was “Queen of Plastics.”

Kathy grew up in Grand Forks, ND and went to Kelly Elementary, Schroeder Jr. High and Red River High School.

Like her sisters, she was involved in 4-H and also piano lessons. When she was a Sophomore at Red River she told mom – “I don’t want to take piano anymore, I want to play Basketball.”

The Piano vs. Basketball truce was accepted, and not only did she play basketball but was part of the state winning team her Senior year.

And on top of that - she was a CHAMPION High Jumper, winning state for High Jump too!

Kathy was smart, driven and goal oriented – she applied for the best of the best colleges and ultimately chose Stanford University.

Kathy graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering. She also was a 4-year track and field athlete in high jump while attending Stanford. (and almost was a walk-on for the women’s basketball team…and was a huge fan/follower of Sandford Women’s Basketball).

She loved being a Stanford Alumni and attended organized events in the Denver/Boulder area and was very active in Stanford’s upcoming Student Interview program.  She dedicated many hours to talking to future students to make sure they were a good fit for the program.

It is CLEARLY established that Kathy was super smart and talented and her achievements in her career are amazing and we want to highlight a few big ones!

She excelled in her career as an Engineer in several industry categories including Medical Devices, Biotechnology, Consumer Electronics, Aerospace and Aviation. Her job titles included Director of Engineering, Principal Engineer, Principal R&D Engineer.

Kathy authored U.S. Patent #6,341,218 for an adapter to support and connect cellular phones in vehicles while working for Cellport Systems in the early 2000’s. Throughout her career she worked on several other patented parts and devices. Google it – you will see Kathy’s name on the patent – super cool. Perhaps for her peers that is standard, but for us as her family/friends – it is spectacular, and we are so proud.

In the engineering field, importance is placed on “getting a product to market” – which she achieved with several companies / products.

In a nutshell, her achievements were Mind-blowing- and as a sister compiling this history all I have to say is WOW! 

Companies that Kathy contributed her genius:

GE Nuclear Energy, San Jose, CA

National Aviation Products, Tempe, AZ

Cellport Systems, Boulder, CO

Fu Yu Corporation, China/Singapore

Great Basin Scientific, Longmont, CO

Tensentric, Inc., Boulder, CO

Medtronic / Covidien, Boulder, CO

Theranos, Palo Alto, CA - !!! – Brave move to this company

“sister Susie two cents”- so glad to have had Kathy closer in the Bay Area for over a year.

After her athletic success in high school and college, Kathy continued her love of exercise and challenge as an avid cyclist and hiker.

SHE LOVED TO CLIMB – whether it was a hike in nature or a bicycle climb on a silly skinny uphill road in Colorado. 

She also loved ROCKS. And she collected them. 

We feel she has reached her ultimate climb of life– so many things most of us won’t understand; she was courageous yet burdened. 

Kathy built an “OMG” tiered rock retaining wall at her home in Boulder.  She also journaled about many things that to me (sister Susie writing this) that seemed like she carried a lot of tiers of rocks personally.

When me, mom and Deb were there in her final week one of the songs on the playlist I put together for Kathy was America – Horse with No Name.  And all week we talked about “Plants and Birds and Rocks and Things” – Kathy loved gardening = plants; she collected and moved so many Rocks and Things; and her spirit soared like a bird. 

One of Kathy’s favorite volunteerish – jobish things was working with Niwot High School as the Assistant Track and Field Coach for High Jump, Long Jump and Triple Jump.

High school Track & Field was a huge part of her life and she LOVED giving back to help the future track stars at Niwot.  This was something that was very fulfilling for Kathy and a very important part of her life.

Another HUGE THING – Kathy was a Volunteer with Lyons Volunteers. In 2013 Lyons, CO was decimated by floods. Kathy had friends in the area and immediately became active with Lyons Volunteers to help them re-build.  After she moved back from CA she was so happy to be back in the groove with the volunteer organization.

Kathy’s wishes were to not have a funeral or ceremony of any type. She wanted her ashes spread on the family farm on Courtenay which we will do as a family.

We have established a “give back” to the Lyons Volunteers. Kathy can’t be there to volunteer, but we want her Legacy of Service to continue. 

You can contribute to Kathy’s Lyon’s Legacy by the PayPal link below.

Hold on to your Head, Fred…

Kathy will be remembered for her Passions:

·  Love of Monarch Butterflies and Sunflowers

·  Her love of the family farm at Courtenay, ND

·  Clever cartoon, quips and short stories

·  Love of family dogs, especially Basset Hounds

·  Passionate about Tigger, Eeyore, and Kermit the Frog

·  Imagination, Creativity, Curiosity and Inspiration

·  Love of Backgammon and Dominoes

·  Spirit of Adventure

·  Skilled designer and builder

·  Fighting Sioux hockey fan

·  Love of North Dakota and Colorado

·  Proud to be an Icelander and empowered by Northern Lights

·  Loyal friend

·  So many “Un’s” and U’s

From Mom - Read the Book, “The Next Place” by Warren Hanson

From all of the Unruh’s – may yoU see and remember Kathy in every U.