Mary Kathleen Lear Gates

Mary Kathleen (Katie) Lear Gates fell asleep in the Lord on June 2, 2012. She won her long battle with lymphoma by maintaining to the end her deep faith, her love of family, her great sense of humor, and her joy in life. Katie had a beautiful, robust laugh that will be remembered by all who knew her. She was always spreading joy and mirth around her. There was a mischievous look in her eye, and she loved to make others laugh in spite of themselves.

Katie was among the early adopters of homeschooling in Orange County and by her encouragement helped many others begin to homeschool. Katie loved to sing and was a member of several choirs. With her husband and children and with the Friesen family, they formed The St. Augustine Voices, which performed sacred polyphony and made two recordings. Katie also loved the piano.

Katie had a deep Catholic faith and a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother. Her favorite prayer was the Rosary and she meditated on the lives of Our Lord and Our Lady thousands and thousands of times in her life. Katie was a member of the Norbertine Lay Order and will be buried in their white scapular. Katie had a special devotion to the unborn, prayed tirelessly for the pro-life cause and often bore witness to the value of life.

Katie was a deeply grateful person, saying "thank you" countless times to those who helped her in her last years.

Special Thanks go to Dr. Evan Slater and all the angels of kindness at VCMC Oncology Clinic, Dr. Lisa Solinas and her dedicated office staff, and Dr. Asimov and Dr. Noah and the nurses of Santa Paula Hospital. Thanks also to the extraordinary people of Buena Vista Hospice who cared for Katie in her last days.

Katie is survived by her husband of 38 years, Ron, her eight children and twenty-nine grandchildren.

The Rosary will be Friday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at St. Sebastian Church, 235 N. Ninth Street in Santa Paula. The funeral will be held on Saturday, June 9 at 10:30 a.m., also at St. Sebastian. Interment will follow at Santa Paula Cemetery. For map and directions to ceremony locations and to sign the family's online guest book, share stories and post pictures please visit our website: www.mysantapaulafuneralhome.com and click on Mary's name located below "Recent Obituaries".

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Family Owned & Operated Robert Rey Garcia Jr. Funeral Svcs., Santa Paula, 805.229.7054.