Kathi Rae Loper

Kathi Rae Loper passed away following a brief battle with cancer that unfolded quickly and largely on her own terms. She leaves behind a family who loved her deeply and a lifetime of wisdom, humor, and perspective that continues to shape us.

Throughout her life, Kathi embraced work that allowed her to be creative and connected her with others in meaningful ways. She began as a journalist for The Garden City Telegram, later shared her talent teaching sign language, and continued building community through her work at the Johnson County Community College coffee shop. She ultimately found her favorite "just for fun" role as owner and operator of Morning Glory Espresso on Johnson Drive in Mission, Kansas. The coffee shop remains in operation today under new ownership and operating with adifferent name, and has even grown - a testament to her original vision and to the unforgettable drinks she crafted, widely agreed to be the very best.

But titles and roles only tell part of the story.

Kathi was feisty, clever, and every bit a boss lady - always with a plan she executed well, and on the rare occasion it backfired, she cut her losses, reassessed, and moved forward with her steady, matter-of-fact outlook. She was known for her strong opinions, yet open-minded and accepting of everyone - as long as she had a metaphorical "mute" button handy. As she liked to say, some people are sunflowers and others are mushrooms - and she was perfectly content being a mushroom, happy in the quiet shade. Her creativity showed up in an ever-rotating collection of hobbies, most of which she pursued enthusiastically until the next fascinating idea came along. She was endlessly curious and always eager to learn something new. A few loves, however, stood the test of time: books, anything sparkly, and card games, where she made sure there was always a wager or prize to be won. She valued quality time with her "people," though in carefully measured doses. The only person she truly enjoyed spending every single day with was her calm-natured, wise, obedient, and deeply loving partner in crime, Joe.

As she requested, there will be no service; celebrate her memory by sharing positivity in waysshe cherished - helping someone, offering a kind word, or brightening someone's day.

What follows is a reflection of who she truly was - told in her own spirit and voice.

Kathi believed life made a lot more sense when you stopped fighting it.

She often said:

"Things always work out the way they are supposed to - most of the time NOT the way you hadplanned or wanted them to."

And if you knew Kathi, you know that wasn't a resignation. That was wisdom earned the hard way -through living, adapting, and choosing optimism anyway.

Kathi didn't pretend life was perfect. She just believed your attitude toward it mattered more than the circumstances themselves.

She explained it best in her own words:

"Manifestation involves mentally tapping into laws of attraction. Positive energy attracts positiveenergy, and negative energy attracts negative energy."

So she chose positivity. Not blindly. Not naïvely. But intentionally.

She believed energy mattered. Words mattered. Perspective mattered.

And when situations got complicated - as they always do - she had a very efficient philosophy:

"Lead, follow, or get out of the way."

It was classic Kathi: practical, direct, and just funny enough that you couldn't argue with it.

Her spirituality was just as honest and uniquely hers. She would say:

"I'm not religious, but I believe God answers every prayer and sometimes the answer is no."

There was acceptance in that. Peace in understanding that life doesn't always bend to our wishes, and that maybe growth comes from learning to live with the answers we didn't hope for.

Kathi understood change - especially the kind you never asked for.

She reminded the people she loved:

"We adapt, we grow, and when we look back on this time of upheaval in our lives, we will see how this change set us on a course we never would have taken if we weren't forced to do so."

And she believed deeply in perspective - the kind that only comes with years of living:

"We seldom see the value of forced changes in real time, but years of living give us the perspectivewe need to trust our own ability to adapt."

She knew life humbled all of us eventually, and she welcomed that humility, saying:

"Recognizing and accepting our limitations gives us something to work on and keeps us humble."

But let's be honest - Kathi was never going to let philosophy get too serious for too long.

Because right alongside her wisdom was her humor - honest, unfiltered, and perfectly timed.

She once offered this unforgettable reminder about positivity:

"Even assholes have positive aspects if you look hard enough. Without our assholes, we would go through life just shitting our pants. See? Something positive."

That was Kathi's genius. She could turn a life lesson into a laugh before you even realized you werebeing taught something meaningful.

And when life felt overwhelming - she had a backup plan:

"If shit hits the fan and life gets sticky, I can and will request, 'Scotty to beam me up.'"

A little humor. A little Star Trek. A lot of honesty about how human it feels sometimes, just wanting an escape hatch.

But underneath all the humor was something even stronger - her fierce love for her family.

Kathi loved deeply, loyally, and protectively. If you were hers, you knew it. She would stand beside you, stand up for you, and if necessary, stand between you and whatever tried to knock you down. She believed family meant showing up - especially when things weren't easy... well, actually not always showing up in person, but absolutely showing up in every supportive way that could be done from afar.

She understood that everyone makes mistakes. No one gets through life perfectly. But in her family, mistakes were never the end of the story.

Because in this family, you could always expect grace. You could always expect forgiveness. You could always come back home.

That was her belief - that family means loving each other through imperfections, not because we deserve it every time, but because that's what family does.

And she knew not every family works that way. She knew how special this one was, and she protected it fiercely.

Kathi measured success differently from most people. Not by achievements or possessions, but by relationships and the people gathered around her life.

And she often joked:

"I've always said I would win a lottery (not necessarily the big 'un) before I die, but it would be a mixed blessing because I would probably win the lottery and then die from excitement."

And honestly... she would probably say she did win the lottery before she died.

The jackpot wasn't money.

It was her family.

Her favorite person and husband, Joe.
Her sons & greatest accomplishments, Aaron and Ryan.
Her "daughter-in-loves", Ashlee and Amy.
Her four grandkids - Ally, Austin, Kendall, and Drew.
Her bestie, Charlee.
And long time family friend, William.

That was her winning ticket.

Kathi's life reminds us that positivity isn't about ignoring hardship - it's about deciding what deserves your energy.

She chose kindness.
She chose humor.
She chose acceptance.
She chose growth.

And maybe the greatest gift she leaves us is her perspective - that even when life doesn't go according to plan, it may still be going exactly where it needs to.

So when life feels uncertain, when change feels forced, when things don't make sense yet - we can hear her voice reminding us:

"Find the little bits of joy that are there if you can look past your fear, sadness, anger, & confusion. Happy times are ahead, if you allow it."