Kathryn Herbener

The world lost some of its light when Kathy Herbener left it at 2:30 am on Feb. 14. Among those mourning her loss are her husband Steve, daughter Brynna, stepson Mike, parents Karen and Richard Weismehl, sisters Debby (Barry) Sattler and Elizabeth Weismehl. She also leaves behind loving aunts and uncles and in-laws. Kathryn Rae Weismehl was born September 2nd, 1964 in Chicago to Karen and Richard Weismehl. She grew up in Evanston, Illinois and attended Washington University in St. Louis graduating with a master's degree in electrical engineering. She went to work for Hewlett-Packard in the Pacific Northwest. In 1993 she married Stephen Richard Herbener and they moved to Fort Collins, Colorado. Their beautiful daughter Brynna was born in Fort Collins, June 8th, 1998. In 2005, Kathy decided to pursue a career change to the field of ecology and enrolled in a PhD program at CSU. Before her death, Kathy was working at the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory under a grant for her PhD. Kathy had many interests and was particularly passionate about birds and singing. There was many a meal where a pair of binoculars served as the dinner table centerpiece just in case something interesting flew by. Kathy was also a fine musician with an unusually uplifting voice. She came from a musical family and had early training. Her solos as a member of the Rocky Mountain Chamber Singers thrilled audiences. In spite of her long illness and the devastating treatments, Kathy continued to care for her daughter and husband, to remain active in her groups, and to complete all the course work toward her Ph.D. in Ecology.      Kathy fought her battle against cancer with determination and grit. She was upbeat and accepting, witty and articulate. It was a joy to be with her, laughing at her jokes and planning adventures. Kathy was an active member of the Foothills Unitarian Church. A celebration of her life will take place Sunday afternoon, Feb. 21 at 2:00 pm at the First United Methodist Church at 1005 Stover St. Another passion of Kathy's was for the wonderful community supported agriculture farms in the Fort Collins area. She was actively involved in the operations of Cresset and Happy Heart farms. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to help out these farms or to the Feeding the Families Initiative which exists to provide the local farm produce to families in need. Cresset Farm can be contacted at www.cressetcommunityfarm.com , Happy Heart Farm and Feeding the Families Initiative can be contacted at www.happyheartfarmcsa.com , info@happyheartfarmcsa.com , or (970) 482-3448.