Monday, February 23, 1998
UCLA bids teary farewell to Katie
Pauley Pavilion manager, former student dies of brain cancer at
36
By John Sandbrook
UCLA lost its princess last week. There was no royal family
presiding, no Elton John song at the memorial service, no worldwide
television coverage. But for the 600 or so faculty, staff and
students who said our good-byes to our princess last Friday in
Pauley Pavilion, the sense of loss and sadness we felt at losing
such a wonderful 36-year-old mother to brain cancer will be not
long forgotten.
Our princess was Katie. That single word has been for years a
magical name around UCLA for hundreds, if not thousands of us. Her
full name was Katherine McCarthy Abbott. But only one word was
necessary to describe her: Katie. She was (and always will be, in
spirit) the manager of Pauley Pavilion and of the Recreation and
Services Facilities Office. But more than anything else, she was a
Bruin.
Like so many of us who work at UCLA, she was a Bruin her entire
adult life. She came to UCLA at age 18 and graduated in four years.
Her love for the campus and for all of us prompted her to remain
here, working as a student supervisor in the newly-opened Wooden
Center in 1983 and gradually becoming assistant manager (and then
manager) of Pauley Pavilion.
Katie loved UCLA and she loved all of us. She loved Pauley
Pavilion. She loved all those who walked through "her" building.
She took care of all of us, from the most skilled varsity athletes
and demanding coaches to the most unskilled intramural and
recreational enthusiasts to the fans sitting in the seats for the
games and performances.
No task was too large for her to take on. Her enthusiasm and
happiness in helping those who approached her with a problem or
request was unique. Her ability to persuade so many of us to help
her resolve a problem was legendary. Her smile was magnetic. Her
charm was beyond description. And, beneath it all, everyone knew
that her love for all of us motivated us to feel the same way about
her.
There were a lot of stiff upper lips in Pauley Pavilion last
Friday at her memorial service. From the electricians and plumbers
at the facilities division, to the campus fire marshall, to the
coaches, to faculty, staff and students who worked with her or for
her.
A lot of the men and women I have worked with for decades had
moist eyes, knowing that magical smile and voice and hug will never
be coming from her again.
How a young woman could develop brain cancer at age 31,
successfully fight it off through a year of difficult treatment
while raising her newborn daughter, and then have it recur again as
she turned 35 … there is no explanation for that.
And her last year with us was spent in a very difficult time,
but always with her giving support to everyone around her without
complaint.
With heavy hearts, hundreds of us watched last Friday as Katie’s
own princess, her daughter Lauren, 4, and her husband Mike, said
their own goodbyes to Katie. And we all said goodbye to Katie,
feeling something that I don’t think any of us will forget for a
long time to come. There is a new spirit that is now part of Pauley
Pavilion and its legacy. It will be there for many of us whenever
we walk in that building again and remember that smile. That spirit
will continue to be known by one word: Katie.