Tom and Kathy Cahill 50th Wedding Anniversary

Tom and Kathy Cahill

 I love the way the pictures were displayed, inside the frames of this old wooden door.  One block for each of the six children, the entire family, and the 50 years in Love sign.  

Look at the beautiful family Tom and Kathy created!  They had four children, Mary, Tom, Jim, and Mike, when they moved to Lewiston in 1973, then added Colleen and Christine nine years later!

 Guests enjoyed a roasted pig!!  It was so good, didn't even need any barbeque sauce.  

 Father Joe Schmidt married Jim and Stacey Cahill, 25 years ago, and led them in the renewal of their marriage vows.

  Deacon Fred Schmidt encouraged the whole family to gather around Tom and Kathy as they renewed their wedding vows.  

I enjoyed hearing the camping stories.

 Son Tom said, "we never missed Mass, even when we were camping an hour from the nearest church.  We begged Mom and Dad to let us say three rosaries instead, but if the Schmidts and Neys were camping with us, we always went to Sunday Mass."

 Kathy fought back tears as her sons, Tom and Jim, spoke about the faith of their parents, their commitment to each other, and the wonderful example of unconditional love shown throughout their married life.

 Kathy saved the cake topper from their wedding and the baker made a small cake for this occasion so the bride and groom could, once again, cut the cake.

 Pictures of a few special guests....

Sharon Cooper and her grandson, Owen.  Her daughter, April, is visiting while she and her husband take a break from their work in Pakistan.

 Sister Carm with the happy couple.  Carm spoke about recruiting Kathy to help with the children's religious education program at Our Lady of Lourdes - another one of the many "yeses" Kathy said to various ministry programs.  Carm also mentioned that she did some babysitting for the Cahill kids and "they did not like my cooking."

 Cecilia, Fred and Jeanette Kelly

 Joan Hogan, Stacey Cahill, Betty Huffman and Grace Church

 Kathy and Father Joe Schmidt sharing memories

My brother, Larry, was eager to meet Tom Arnzen, who is Jim Cahill's best friend.  Tom's brother, Jerry Arnzen, is one of Larry's good friends.  

The Cahill children planned and executed a great celebration for their parents.  Kathy did admit that it was hard for her to relax because she's always been the one to be in charge of the food and the logistics of family gatherings.  She also talked about some of the challenges she and  Tom faced in their marriage, but "one word that we never brought up was 'divorce' because we made a commitment to remain faithful to our marriage vows, and I think now we're going to make it."

I remember when I was a new director at Juniper Meadows, facing challenges of staffing and occupancy, and Tom (who'd come to lead the communion service) sat down in my office and patiently listened to my concerns and frustrations.  He'd retired by then and reminded me that work challenges sometimes distract us from our real job, "which in your case, is to love and care for the residents." 

During the celebration, Jean Altmiller and I realized that our friendship really began when Kathy, the Rectora, chose us to be her assistants during the 2001 Women's Cursillo.  We attended lots of team planning meetings and sometimes Kathy would insist that we come for dinner - a real dinner, with several side dishes and a home made dessert.   Jean and I remarked about our good fortune because neither one of us did much cooking for ourselves.  Jean recalled the challenging days when her daughter, Amy, was hospitalized with Gullain-Barre Syndrome and Kathy came to her house and scrubbed the kitchen floor!  I will never forget their generosity and hospitality.

God, bless this special couple and continue to be their source of joy and happiness!