As you may well surmise, the recent and very sudden passing of Kathryn Kerr caught many of us, myself included, as a complete surprise. I had visited with Kit on the afternoon of December 18th and found her to be in good spirits and her usual jolly self. I came to be acquainted with Kit and her husband Mert many years ago when my wife and I moved into a new house on Kerr Road as new residents. Kit and Mert very quickly established themselves as kind neighbors willing to help these “city slickers” settle into the area. Over the years these fine neighbors were always among the very first to respond to any type of calamity that overtook our household. They were there during the best of times and also during the worst of time. It was a good friendship that I hold dear in my memory. We were with Kit during the time when Mert was called home to be with his maker. That left a void that was never filled but we along with Kit learned to live with the comfort of his memory. In subsequent years I moved from Kerr Road down to Abingdon and Kit and I continued our friendship as we shared visits and cards and excursions together. One of our favorite jaunts was to drive up to Willow Valley to indulge in the buffet breakfast. We took it upon ourselves as a service to the general public to periodically drop in at Willow Valley unannounced and test the quality of the waffles and the sticky buns. Little did we know that after Kit was no longer able to make the quick trips to Willow Valley that without her testing and oversight of the waffles, the entire Willow Valley restaurant and motel complex would shut down and is to be demolished. Kit loved to travel and especially relished the bus trips with the “old folks” as she called them. I told her that chaperoning a rowdy bunch like that was a high calling. She even traveled to Alaska on a cruise ship. She got to see Alaska and I got a hat with Alaska sewn on the front. Make no mistake, I wear it proudly in her memory. Over the years I came to learn how lucky I was that I was included in Kit’s circle of friends. In time I learned that there were only two types of people in her system, those who were “One of ours” and everyone else. In time I learned that “One of ours” meant they went to school at North Harford. I was fortunate to have been given a pass on that litmus test as I attended Bel Air High School. I shall not forget my dear friend and will always miss her engaging smile and “can do” attitude. I look forward to the time when once again we can sit down together and enjoy a heavenly waffle. Rick Steever