Remembering Katie Klinect

I have this handful of pictures of Katie that I took on a snowy day in February, barely two months before the accident that would take her life. These photos that I took of her that day will stay with me forever.  I was photographing her and two other lovely young women in the snow for my 365 project. The title of that post was Spontaneity. I didn’t know Katie as well as I would have liked to, but it seems that word suited her. I had posted on Facebook that I needed a snow model for the incoming flurries we were receiving and she responded right away. The other young women also responded and instead of choosing just one, I decided to photograph them together. They did not know each other, but it wasn’t long before they were giggling in the back of my car as we headed to our location.

I was taken with Katie’s calm and confident demeanor. She had a way of making other people feel comfortable. She had assisted me on a session earlier in the fall and I loved spending time with her. We had plans for her to do that more often.

My heart squeezes tight as I write this post. I am so saddened by the loss of this beautiful young woman. I cannot seem to understand that she is gone. I remember her. I remember Katie that day in the snow, laughing and throwing her hat in the air for me again and again. There was a lonely road that curved around the pasture down the hill and she thought it was lovely. She asked if we could walk that way and take some images. She just loved the way it looked. I did too and of course complied. We walked that way as the other girls got into my car to warm up a bit. I had just a few moments alone with Katie on this quiet winter’s day. We walked silently together smiling about our adventure. These moments hang in my memory like stained glass windows now — beautiful and precious. She walked the path ahead of me and I photographed her as she walked away. Her figure was so peaceful moving away from me, her dark coat silhouetted against the snow. I think about that most of all. I want to ask her to turn around and come back one more time.

I have learned much about Katie since she passed away last week. She loved Jesus. Oh yes, she loved Jesus. I knew that about her, but I did not know until this happened that she had given him everything. She said in her testimony that is on a video “God didn’t save me because he wanted something of me, or wanted me to do something. He saved me because he thought I was worth dying for. He just wanted to watch me live life.” Katie knew some things that some of us as Christians struggle to understand. She knew she did not have to perform or do everything just right to receive his love. She knew that he had saved her and she was his, and this was enough. I am so glad she knew that.

Her mom and dad and family know these things too. This does not take the pain away, but I know it gives them hope. Their prayer is that many will come to faith in Jesus through the loss of their precious Katie. I pray that too.

Katie lost her life doing what she loved to do. She was playing with some kids, having fun. She was riding bikes with them and accidentally hit a tree. She spent just over a week in ICU but never recovered. Our community has been deeply impacted by the loss of this beautiful woman.

She is with Jesus now. I know that.

I can still see her on that snowy day. The flakes fall softly onto her black hair. She looks soulfully into my lens and I am struck by her depth and beauty. Then her face breaks into a big smile and the sun shines instantly.

You will be deeply missed, dear Katie. Walk on with your Jesus. We will be so grateful and happy to see you again someday.

Please join me in continuing to pray for the Klinect family. May they be held in God’s strong but gentle hands as they carry on.

1 Thessalonians 4:13,14 ~

“Christian brothers, we want you to know for sure about those who have died. You have no reason to have sorrow as those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and then came to life again. Because we believe this, we know that God will bring to life again all those who belong to Jesus.”