Kathy St. Clair, 45, of Shawnee, passed away Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014 at Saint Luke’s Hospice House in Kansas City following a 13-year battle with breast cancer. Katherine Rose (Schuver) St. Clair was born Oct. 11, 1968, in Orange City, Iowa, to Walter and Geraldine Schuver of Granville, Iowa. She was raised on the family farm there, the youngest of five children. A lifelong Catholic, Kathy earned her registered nurse degree in 1991 from the University of Iowa School of Nursing in Iowa City. While a nursing student, Kathy met a fellow nursing student, Shane St. Clair, of Argyle, Iowa. They married on September 5, 1992 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Granville. Soon after earning their degrees, the couple moved to the Kansas City area where they made their home for the rest of her life. They welcomed their son Zachary on June 25, 1997 and their daughter Madelyn on May 2, 2000. Both of the children attend Shawnee Mission Northwest High School. Kathy worked her career as a nurse at St. Luke’s and the last 15 years she was the nurse practitioner and clinical manager of the heart transplant program at Saint Luke’s Mid-America Heart Institute. She continued to work throughout her illness up until just the last month before her death. Kathy was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001 at age 32. She aggressively fought the disease with a goal of surviving to be with her husband and children as long as possible. She loved her church and her children’s elementary school at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. The family have been parishioners there since 1992 and the children graduated from the school after eighth grade. Kathy loved doing anything with her family and rarely allowed her cancer to slow her down. Survivors include her husband and two children; mother Geraldine (Gerry) of the Happy Siesta Healthcare Center in Remsen, Iowa; two brothers, Joseph and life partner Wil Mills of San Francisco, Cal. and Michael (Dianne) of Branson, Mo; two sisters, Mary (Jeff) Watkins of Louisville, Ky, and Jennifer (Tom) Kittler of Northbrook, Ill; in-laws Sandy and Dick St Clair of Montrose, Iowa; a sister-in-law Erin (St. Clair) Roberts of Albany, Ga.; and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father. Memorials made be made to Kathy St. Clair Inspiration Fund. A foundation at St. Luke’s set up by her colleagues in her honor to assist other nurses in continuing education.

Visitation & Mass

A visitation will be held Saturday, August 23rd, 2014 from 8:00 to 10:30 am at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Shawnee, Kansas. Mass will follow at 10:30 am. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, Lenexa, Kansas.

Contributions

Contributions in memory of Kathy may be made to the “Kathy St. Clair Inspirational Fund”