Our beloved friend and colleague, Katy Wilkinson, passed away peacefully on May 13 at the age of 52 after a valiant struggle with ALS. She will be deeply missed by her husband, Wade, her daughter, Amanda, and her son, Clayton, as well as the many colleagues, friends, and patients in her Texas Children’s Hospital family.
Katy earned her Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy at Texas Women’s University in Denton, Texas. This degree, together with her joy in working with children, landed her at Texas Children’s Hospital. She loved her work and her large second family of coworkers and patients. This love was reciprocated, and Katy was recently honored for 30 years of continued service at Texas Children’s. During her years at Texas Children’s, Katy was involved in many facets of leadership and patient care. She was highly involved with the Lung Transplant Team as well as working in a variety of areas including International Adoption and the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Katy’s unending support and positive attitude earned the love and respect of the many therapists and students that she mentored over the years.
In her love for her family, Katy always found a way to make things happen. She served on the volunteer board for Amanda and Clayton’s school. She arranged her time off from work to allow her to be involved in school activities. Katy was an avid runner who loved reading and all of nature. Family time away from Houston took them snorkeling in Cozumel, hiking and skiing in Colorado, visiting all of nature’s wonders in Yellowstone or Rocky Mountain National Parks, and exploring Costa Rica. She had a special love of all animals. So much so, that they humorously called their home The Zoo.
Katy will be deeply missed and always remembered. In her honor, a memorial service will be held on at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 28, in the third-floor conference room of the Clinical Care Center. In lieu of traditional remembrances, Katy requested with gratitude that contributions in memory of her be directed to ALS at http://www.alsa.org/ and click on Donate.