Kathleen Alma Garwood

GARWOOD (DeMars), Kathy; of Clarkston entered heaven on 11/22/23 at 80 years old, following a stroke. She was surrounded by her loving family as she entered into the kingdom of God/her next chapter.

Kathy started out life in Detroit, MI and the family lived for many years in Marine City, MI.  She was the third child of Charles & Joann (Hogan) DeMars. She married her husband Stan in 1968, living an adventurous and loving life for 55 years together, raising their three children, traveling and giving back to her community.

As a young girl, she and her younger brother Tom fashioned an "airplane", constructed of a heavy timber fuselage and lumber wings.  Luckily for all of their future family, they decided to test out the airplane before piloting it.  Launching out of the top floor of their barn, the pair was concerned they would lose the airplane in the distant pond.  When "launched", of course, the construction hit the ground immediately below the hay door and broke into pieces. This was a favorite memory of hers from childhood.

For those lucky enough to encounter Kathy, she was the most empathic & compassionate person they knew. She helped students at Sashabaw Jr High School when her children were young, worked as a chaplain at Pontiac General Hospital, facilitated suicide survivor/general loss groups, grief therapy & aftercare coordination at a local funeral home.  She provided individual counseling, and, along with her husband Stan, founded the North Oakland Disaster Relief Team (NODRT) in 2001.  NODRT provides restoration & relief services to areas ravaged by natural disasters all around the country for individuals and families who are uninsured or underinsured. Additionally, she was a board member of Christmas in Action, long-time member of the Optimist Club & member of  St. Daniel's Catholic Church Folk band. Kathy was honored to receive "Citizen of the Year" by the Clarkston Chamber of Commerce in 2002 for her many contributions in service to others.

Wife of Stan; mother of  Karin (Steve) Mitchell, Brian (Sherry) & Gordie (Tammy); grandma of Reilly, Annika, Nathan, Alicia, Kyrie & Fiona.

Visitation Thursday, Nov 30th at Lewis E. Wint & Son Funeral Home, Clarkston from 3-5pm & 6-9pm. Rosary prayers 4:30pm and a sharing time at 7:30pm

Funeral Mass Friday, Dec 1st at 11:00am at St Daniel Catholic Church, Clarkston with visiting directly at the church at 10:00am. Graveside service to follow at Lakeview Cemetery, Clarkston

Please direct any donations in Kathy's memory to: North Oakland Disaster Relief Team - nodisasterreliefteam@gmail.com OR

Solanus Casey Center - www.solanuscasey.org/donation

Please leave a memory or condolence on Kathy's online guest book at www.wintfuneralhome.com