Kathleen “Kathi” E. Blaine
Kathleen “Kathi” Elaine Blaine passed away on September 3, 2020 at her home in Wilmington, MA surrounded by her family at the age of 66.
Born in Manchester, NH on October 7, 1953 to Kenneth A. and Jennie B. Blaine, youngest of five children, Kathi attended Parker-Varney schools, and graduated from Manchester HS West. She went on to college at the University of New Hampshire where she completed a BA degree, and then went on to complete a BS in Microbiology. After graduation, she moved to the Boston area and worked in oncology and hematology research for several years, during which she pursued an MBA at UMASS in Healthcare Administration. Her career then took her into healthcare systems management as a consultant and later as a manager and director of information systems at multiple healthcare facilities in the Boston area, rising to Director of Information Technology & Telecommunications at Northeast Rehabilitation Hospital Network in Salem, NH. She was an active member of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (National and Regional) from 1988-1999, and served on the Board of Directors of HIMSS New England from 1990-1994.
Kathi was an avid genealogist, musician, crafter, and web designer. In addition to researching her family genealogy, Kathi was a member of several genealogy societies and volunteered in converting paper records to database records and assisted others in researching their family genealogies. She played, arranged, and published music for the Celtic harp, and was an organizer and active member of the Nashoba Valley Harp Circle. As a hobby, she produced and sold handmade crafts including jewelry, and quilted and knitted items.
Kathi is survived by two sisters and a brother – Janice (Blaine) Fuller and her husband Joel M. Fuller of Preston, CT; Karen L. Blaine of Wilmington, MA; Richard C. Blaine of Pinehurst, NC; Robert R. Blaine (predeceased); two nieces (Anna A. Woodcock of Philadelphia, PA and Lisa B. Woodcock of Salem, MA) and a nephew (Joel M. Fuller, II and family of Uncasville, CT), three grandnephews and two grandnieces.
There will be no service at this time. Memorials may be given in Kathi’s name to the Winchester Hospital Cancer Care Center.
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My heartfelt condolences go out to Kathi’s family. I have fond memories of her, when Karen and I attended school together and enjoyed life in our neighborhood.
Kathi lived a life that was full of music, family and personal accomplishments.
Kathi will be remembered. She will make a difference in many people’s lives, by being who she was along the journey.
I will miss Kathi immensely since she was 25% of our little harp group! She taught me to appreciate Celtic music. I will treasure the arrangements that she wrote every time I play them and think of her and what the harp meant to her. She was always able to find a silver lining in all situations, no matter how bad they seemed. May she enjoy playing her harp in the afterlife.
Being another 25% of our little harp group, I wholeheartedly second what Judith said, above. When Kathi and I drove out to OH with our harps and then later to NJ for another harp festival,
I found her company and her sense of humor delightful. I first met her when she joined the Indian Hill Music harp group
in Littleton so many years ago. She was always a welcome addition and will be sorely missed. My deepest condolences to Karon, Jan, and Richard.