Laura Katharine Larkin

Beloved wife, mother, sister, and daughter Laura Katharine "Kathi" Larkin (née Golden) passed away on November 20, 2023, at home and in the loving company of her extended family. Four years after her diagnosis with stage IV lung cancer, Kathi died as she had lived, with dignity, grace, goodness, and strength. She is missed every day by all who knew and loved her.

Kathi was born in Canyon, Texas on August 3, 1963 to Joe Sam Golden and Laura Joan Golden (née Peacock), and grew up in Long Beach, California as the eldest of four siblings. Kathi spent what she would later remember as the best part of her teenage years working hard at the Rocky Knob Lodge on the Bitterroot River near Darby, Montana, after her family acquired the lodge as a family business. She went on to graduate in 1985 from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics with a self-designed focus on Sino-Soviet-American Relations and Chinese language studies.

In her last year of college, Kathi joined Volunteers in Asia (VIA), a non-profit cultural exchange program recruiting American students to teach English overseas. From 1985 to 1987, Kathi lived and taught in the People's Republic of China, where she and fellow VIA volunteer Eric Thomas Larkin met, fell in love, and were married in a communal wedding ceremony on December 28, 1986. After returning to the United States, Kathi worked as China Program Coordinator for VIA while Eric pursued graduate studies in engineering. In 1987, she mourned the untimely passing of her mother Joan. In 1989, during student protests leading up to the Tiananmen massacre, Kathi coordinated the evacuation of her volunteers and temporary closure of the VIA China program.

In 1990 Kathi gave birth to Erin Katherine Larkin and found her calling as a mother. Erin was followed by Isaac Nathaniel Larkin in 1992, Pamela Nancy Larkin in 1997 and Anne Lorraine Larkin in 1999. For the next two and a half decades, as Kathi and Eric moved from place to place, Kathi studied positive parenting and nutrition, planted gardens, joined and later organized mutual support groups with other moms. For six of those wonderful but hard years, Kathi invited her widowed mother-in-law Marjorie Ellen Larkin to live with the family so Marjorie could have the joy of daily family life in her last years. Kathi's first experience with a neighborhood playgroup was with Las Madres in San Jose, where she and Erin met regularly with a group of mothers and children of similar age, many of whom became lifelong friends. Kathi also volunteered in parent-participation schools for many years, and when the local schools were not up to her standards, home-schooled her children. As gentle atheists, she and Eric together made it their mission to raise good, kind, capable, confident people with the skills and desire to make our world a better place.

Kathi and family moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains in 2004, where Kathi was an active member of the community for the next 15 wonderful years. She first organized the Blue Mountain Homeschool group with fellow mothers, then as her kids grew older and time permitted, volunteered to lead the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) under the auspices of the Loma Prieta Volunteer Fire and Rescue. Kathi also got her ham radio license as a member of the Loma Prieta Amateur Radio Club (LPARC) and Santa Cruz County Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES).

In 2015, Kathi and Eric had the joy of both hosting a reception at their mountain home to celebrate their eldest daughter Erin's wedding to Zachary Matthew "Zack" Taylor, then a captain in the US Army, and later that year, attending Isaac's wedding to Alida Camille Miranda-Wolff in Chicago. In 2017 Kathi and Eric's youngest daughter Annie left for college, and a few months later Erin gave birth to Kathi's first grandson, Henry Michael Taylor. Son-in-law Zack was posted overseas just after Henry was born, and Kathi was thrilled to stay and help care for baby Henry until Zack's return nine months later.

In 2019, Zack received a three year posting to the University of Oregon, so Erin and Zack and Henry moved to Eugene. Erin was expecting again, at the same time Kathi and Eric were considering how to live the next phase of their lives as new grandparents with an empty nest. Inspired by her father Sam and his wife Nancy Sue "Sunshine" Golden (née Holmes, who Kathi considered her second mother), Kathi and Eric decided to retire to Eugene in hopes of finding a riverfront home that all of their children and grandchildren would enjoy visiting. While looking for their retirement home, Kathi happily stepped in as granny-nanny for Henry and his newborn brother Thomas Nathaniel Taylor.

Kathi suffered a sudden seizure on Halloween 2019, was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and given an expected survival of a few years. She and Eric completed their move to the Eugene area and bought their riverside home in early 2020, as COVID pandemic was beginning. Happily, her younger daughters Pam and Annie were able to move in with Kathi and Eric for the duration, and Tristan Matthias Miranda Larkin was born to Alida and Isaac in 2022. Kathi lived joyfully but carefully for the next few years, sharing her love with children and grandsons. She tended to her garden, kayaked, and frequently hosted extended family and close friends (in separate rooms, with masks).

After her diagnosis, Eric and Kathi together did all they could to give Kathi the best possible medical care, working with a wonderful local oncologist, making trips to Houston every few months for checkups at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and seeking frequent advice from family members in the medical profession. Sadly, Kathi's health worsened significantly in 2023. With support from her family, she and her sister Lori planned a summertime celebration, hosting more than 120 guests for Kathi's 60th birthday at her and Eric's home. Kathi passed away just before Thanksgiving, comfortable, courageous, and in the loving company of her family.

Kathi was a gentle, wise and loving elder sister, wife, matriarch, friend and neighbor who brought her whole self to every one of the many roles she played in her life:

As Mama Bear, she attended every soccer game and cross country/track meet her four children played - dedicating all her weeknights and weekends to their pursuits. Her cheering voice was unmistakable even on the loudest field. Her children woke up to homemade pancakes or bacon and eggs every morning before school. Her homeschooling and parenting philosophies were rooted in a deep commitment to nurturing curiosity and fostering independence, instilling in her children a love of learning that would guide them throughout their lives. She respected her children and their development - never speaking down or dismissing, always nurturing and connecting. Above all, she made sure her children knew they were safe, secure, and loved every single day.

As Granny, she made as many memories as she could with her grandsons. Even though she's gone, Henry and Thomas continue to ask to go to "Granny's House" - where tater tots are served for breakfast and butter noodles for lunch. Where games of Dog Dice, Sequence Junior, and foosball are only interrupted for swimming in the pool, David Attenborough documentaries, and occasional naps. Tristan will know her through photos and stories - photos of many trips to Chicago that show a bright and easy smile when his Granny held him.

As the oldest and wisest sister, she made the world a brighter place. She could be ruthlessly competitive (even with her grandchildren, who she loved to play foosball with). She loved playing bridge with her father, her siblings and Eric - drinking and laughing well into the wee hours of the morning. Kathi, and all the Goldens, had an unapologetic love of farts and fart jokes. We believe Kathi developed her snark and a wicked sense of humor from a glorious childhood spent with her first true loves - Lori, Bryan, and Barbara.

As a daughter, she dedicated her life to her family, opening her heart and home to relatives, in-laws, and those she chose as her family. She missed her mom her whole life, and honored Joan's memory by frequently bringing her family together across the country and organizing every detail to ensure that anyone under her roof felt welcome and cherished. She was a phenomenal cook known for big meals at family gatherings and signature dishes like: Julia Child's caesar salad (recipe clipped from a newspaper and taped to the kitchen cabinet), delicious chinese stir fry and perfect rice (learned while living in China), a curried butternut squash soup (to warm the soul on a rainy fall day), and beer-butt chicken on the bbq served with spanish rice and beans and homemade salsa (a hallmark of every backyard party). Her favorite holiday was Thanksgiving - the holiday that brought her friends, family, and food all together under her roof.

As a deeply loved and loving wife, Kathi lived her 36 year marriage as a partnership of equals. Wherever we lived, she made a home full of joy and purpose and too many wonderful memories to count, with stir fry dinners, love letters, pictures and mementos everywhere, and a bottle of wine while sitting and talking, overlooking her garden at sunset. She also showed her love with tolerance and understanding, making ten moves in our first ten years of marriage, lovingly sharing her home with her sometimes difficult mother-in-law for six years, and accepting Eric's persistently long hours and late night calls throughout his career. In her last few years, after her diagnosis, she and Eric both relished their days together without the pull of work, turning our new home into Whisperville, a destination for family and friends, and kayaking at Clear Lake or upriver to the cove she called her happy place.

As a friend, neighbor, and community member, Kathi made neighbors her friends and friends her second family. Wherever she lived, Kathi inspired lifelong relationships with her unfailing kindness, wise advice, organizational skills, and empathetic support in good times and hard times. Her Las Madres sisters inspired her to organize Blue Mountain Homeschoolers, and she indulged her dual passions for nature and preparedness as a docent at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in the 1990s and leader of the Loma Prieta Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in the 2000s.

Kathi is survived and deeply missed by her husband Eric, daughters Erin, Pam, Annie and Alida, sons Isaac and Zack, and grandsons Henry, Thomas and Tristan, father Sam, second mother Sunshine, sisters Lori, Barbara, Penny, Jane, Jill and June, and her brother Bryan.

Kathi's family will host a celebration of her life on her birthday in 2024, at the home she and Eric shared. If you wish to honor Kathi with a gift, please donate to Oregon End of Life Choices, the Pete Moore Hospice House (operated by Cascade Health in Eugene, Oregon), the Oregon Food Bank, or Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Kathi, Mama, Granny: We will love you forever, we will love you for always.