A light went out in Old Town last week. Kathy Harrison, a longtime Old Towner and, for many of us, a longtime friend, passed away after almost getting the best of the cancer that she valiantly fought for two years.

Kathy was a beautiful person, inside and out. She was blessed with youthful good looks and a sunny disposition, neither of which were diminished by her illness or its treatment.

She was one of those people with deep-down goodness, who cared about others because she knew no other way to live her life; loving and caring were wired in her DNA.

Kathy was a gift to us all. To those that knew her, she was the kind of person you liked being around, someone who was comfortable in her own skin, unpretentious, interesting and interested.

Those that didn't know her learned through her altruism that she was a kind-hearted soul who viewed life in its grand scheme. From her union leadership, to volunteering at Elizabeth House and Laurel Elementary School, to her work with Patrons for Peace, to her involvement and activism in the Old Town community, to helping out in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, to campaigning for our president, Kathy had the courage to act on her convictions. She was someone who lived Gandhi's call to "Be the difference you want to see in the world."

A memorial service was held Dec. 13 at Donaldson Funeral Home. It was standing room only on that cold and rainy afternoon -- even Mayor Craig Moe couldn't find a seat. Kathy's oldest brother, Keith Harrison, spoke of some of his sister's firsts: Kathy was a member of the first graduating class of Atholton High School, and in 1973 Kathy became the first female telephone installer for the old Chesapeake & Potomac (C&P) phone company when its Laurel office was the building that sits across from Donaldson's on Carroll Avenue. Keith told of how he watched the Harrison family dynamics change for the better as Kathy grew to be the "family matriarch." And he spoke of Kathy's rock-steady love and devotion to her husband, Steve Williams, and her son, James Coen V.

Her good friend and C&P co-worker, Kim Witmer, spoke of Kathy's "gift of friendship, her kind spirit and her natural instinct to give."

Friend and neighbor Kara Weinstein will always treasure the Riverfront Park walks with Kathy, the visits to her house and the friendship of a "mindful person of courage and purpose," who "didn't shy away from a call to a cause."

Sue Lambert, another of the many C&P folks at the service, spoke warmly of the friend she'd known for 40 years. In the later months of 1973, Sue followed Kathy's lead and became the second C&P woman to "go outside" and become an installer.

Tom O'Donnel, who had worked with Kathy at The Columbia Bank after she retired from C&P, described her as a "shining light in this world."

And Kathy's niece, Cori Harrison, bravely fought tears to share how she "felt so much love" when she was with her aunt. She told of testing Kathy's insistence on being called Aunt Kathy by sending her an "Ant Kathy" card, a card that Kathy cherished for years before lovingly sending it back to Cori for a special occasion.

I know this is not traditional fare for a column this time of year. But life's main events have no calendar, and celebrations arrive in many forms. Kathy's life was a year-round celebration of life and love. Her passing in this season of giving is a reminder that the greatest gift any of us have to offer is ourselves; to share our time and our love with friends and family, as well as strangers on the street, as Kathy did all her life. The memory of her example, bolstered by her lifetime of good works, will rekindle her light in the lives of the many people she touched.

May your holidays and the coming New Year also shine bright with the light of love.

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