Kathryn F. Roa

1964 - 2020

Kathryn F. Roa

Kathryn F. Roa, passed away at Joliet Area Community Hospice Home, Saturday, February 1, 2020. Age 56 years.

Survived by her three sisters Elaine (Stephen) Slansky, Barb Pauloski and Susan (Andrew) Majcher. Loving aunt to Patrick Slansky, Kathie and Mikey Pauloski, Sarah and Emily Cryer.

Preceded in death by her parents Jesse S. Roa (January 27, 2020) and Phyllis E. Roa (April 19, 2019).

Kathie was diagnosed with a heart condition, Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM), at the age of 16. She was told that she would need to live a sedentary life if she wanted to survive past the age of 18. She accepted her fate for several years, but one day she declared to her parents that she would rather be a paramedic for a day and drop dead than work at a boring desk job just to extend her life.

Kathie completed her EMT-Paramedic training in May of 1988 and was the recipient of the Will/Grundy EMS Golden Stethoscope Valedictorian Award for her graduating class. After being a volunteer and paid-on-call medic, Kathie was hired full time by the Plainfield Ambulance Department on January 1, 1989. Kathie's own health battles led her to approach each of her patients with extra empathy. Her dedication to their care earned her many awards, including the Will/Grundy EMS System Paramedic of the Year Award for 1990, even as she struggled in her own life with the damage done to her house by the historic Plainfield Tornado that year.

In 1999 Kathie was among the first 150 patients at Baylor University Medical Center in Texas to receive an alcohol septal ablation, an experimental procedure to help correct her HOCM that is now a common treatment for the condition.

Through other medical challenges Kathie continued to dedicate her life to her patients. She became a paramedic instructor for the Will/Grundy EMS System and shared her years of emergency medical experience with several classes of students, many of whom went on to become EMS instructors themselves. After a knee injury in 2007, Kathie struggled for two years to be able to return to the occupation she loved so much. She was elated when her commitment to her job and in the classroom was acknowledged with the Dr. William E. McConnell Excellence in EMS Award in 2008. Unfortunately, a debilitating stroke in May of 2009 ended both her teaching and field careers.

Kathie had always tried to remain positive over the past ten and a half years as her health continued to rob her of the things she loved so much, but the loss of her mother in April and her father on January, proved too much for her. Medically, she died from a heart related blood infection, but those who knew her best know that she really died of a broken heart.

Memorial services will be held at the Carlson-Holmquist-Sayles Funeral Home & Crematory, 2320 Black Rd., Tuesday, February 11th at 10:00 A.M. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association 18 East Main St. Suite 202, Denville, NJ 07834 www.4hcm.org Visitation will be held Monday from 3:00 ? 8:00 P.M. For information call (815) 744-0022 or www.CHSFUNERAL.com