Obituary for Katherine "Katie" Brausen (McCoy)
It is with sadness that the family of Katherine (Katie) McCoy Brausen announces her passing on January 31, 2021 from COVID-19.
Katie was born September 15, 1953, to Barbara and David McCoy. She spent the majority of her first thirty-three years living and working in the Chicago area where she met her great love and life partner, Jim Brausen. They were married in 1986 and celebrated twenty-four years together, initially in San Diego, CA, before moving to Waco in 2003. Jim passed in 2010 and Katie spent the ensuing years giving herself completely to her relationships with others.
Born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy that manifested in the gradual loss of muscle in her hands, arms, legs and feet, Katie developed an intimate understanding of life’s fragility. Her physical decline was slow-paced, but persistent and uncompromising throughout her life, diminishing and ultimately denying her ability to engage in activities she dearly loved such as playing the piano and drawing, as well as the more mundane activities of daily life that most people take for granted. Through her daily struggles, she developed an intense understanding of the transcendent power of loving relationships. Those who knew her knew her completely, her fears and disappointments, her joy, determination, and conviction. Katie held her family, friends, caregivers, and even casual acquaintances close, celebrating their lives and the shared moments with abandon. Her light shone brightly and touched so many. In her very special way, Katie taught many lessons to all of us fortunate enough to know her. We hold tight to those lessons and the memories we carry into our individual and collective futures.
Katie is survived by her brother, Paul McCoy and his wife Ann; her niece, Genevieve; her nephews, Nathan, John, and Peter McCoy; sister-in-law, Marilyn McCoy; and the Brausen kids, Lynn, Laura, Amy, Tim, Tom, and John. Donations can be made in Katie’s memory to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Unity Spiritual Center of Waco, the animal rescue foundation of your choice, or The Wilderness Society.
Katie was born September 15, 1953, to Barbara and David McCoy. She spent the majority of her first thirty-three years living and working in the Chicago area where she met her great love and life partner, Jim Brausen. They were married in 1986 and celebrated twenty-four years together, initially in San Diego, CA, before moving to Waco in 2003. Jim passed in 2010 and Katie spent the ensuing years giving herself completely to her relationships with others.
Born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy that manifested in the gradual loss of muscle in her hands, arms, legs and feet, Katie developed an intimate understanding of life’s fragility. Her physical decline was slow-paced, but persistent and uncompromising throughout her life, diminishing and ultimately denying her ability to engage in activities she dearly loved such as playing the piano and drawing, as well as the more mundane activities of daily life that most people take for granted. Through her daily struggles, she developed an intense understanding of the transcendent power of loving relationships. Those who knew her knew her completely, her fears and disappointments, her joy, determination, and conviction. Katie held her family, friends, caregivers, and even casual acquaintances close, celebrating their lives and the shared moments with abandon. Her light shone brightly and touched so many. In her very special way, Katie taught many lessons to all of us fortunate enough to know her. We hold tight to those lessons and the memories we carry into our individual and collective futures.
Katie is survived by her brother, Paul McCoy and his wife Ann; her niece, Genevieve; her nephews, Nathan, John, and Peter McCoy; sister-in-law, Marilyn McCoy; and the Brausen kids, Lynn, Laura, Amy, Tim, Tom, and John. Donations can be made in Katie’s memory to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Unity Spiritual Center of Waco, the animal rescue foundation of your choice, or The Wilderness Society.