Kathryn Lee Crocker

Her mother, Margaret “Peggy” Crocker, ended up having four children - two boys and two girls, in less than 3 years. Their father, James B Crocker, after five years residing in the San Francisco Bay Area, moved the family up to the northern Sacramento Valley to pursue work as a General Contractor, building hospitals and schools. Kathy, along with her brother, Mark, sister Lin, and twin, Steven, grew up among almond, walnut, and peach orchards, with Kathy riding horses and chasing boys. Summers were spent on the coast, visiting grandparents living in Inverness on Tomales Bay, and in Felton on the San Lorenzo River.

She fled high school in her senior year and moved to the East Coast, living with a Buddhist truck driver and attending Woodstock, and then returning to the West Coast after driving across country in a purple VW bus. She began selling her pen and ink drawings and homemade wax candles on the street in Sausalito, later attending the College of Marin. Life was in flux when she moved to Sacramento and took sales positions at Breuner’s and Macy’s, living at various times with her twin.

Her career began on her 24th birthday when she and Steven celebrated by soaring at a gliderport north of Fairfield, CA. There she met the flight instructor, Larry Edwards, and for the next four years, lived together on a house boat on the Calaveras River while she pursued her new found passion for flying - first as a soaring pilot, then as a tow pilot and soaring instructor. When she acquired twin engine prop and jet plane ratings, she began flying for a private oil company, sometimes taking Charlie, her president, to Wyoming for fly fishing.

Then, while riding a shuttle at LAX Airport, she met the president of Continental Airlines who asked her to apply. She began by flying Boeing 737’s, graduated to Boeing 747’s, and finally piloted 777’s over the course of 15 years. While nearing the end of her career, she flew her twin brother first class to Paris for lunch on their 50th birthday.

When she retired from Continental in the 1990’s, she returned to her art, creating a unique style of painting. When after years of being in the “Studio”, she would be asked how to describe her work and then offer a wry look, as if to say, “You think I can put this into words?”

There were two great loves in her life – her dogs, all whippets, of which she had many, and her enduring core of nephews of which she had five, three of whom lived in Europe - Sebastien, Gabriel, and Charles, and two of whom lived in Aptos - Adam and Zachary. Their affection and adoration for her grew from an early age, fed by the magic she possessed in a wonderful brew of being pilot, artist, and cool auntie.

Kathryn’s mom and dad have passed on before her. Her remaining family includes all of her siblings and nephews. Now that her struggle with cancer and suffering has ended, one cannot help but feel she walks among us, playful, loving, freely able to surprise us by the joy she gave and the crazy love she bestowed upon each of us. Love, Katrina, was your gift to us forever. Till the Lord calls us together again.