Caitlin Vaughn Schiele, 27, died August 24, 2020. She died at home with her husband by her side after a two year battle with cancer.
Catie didn't want a traditional funeral or obituary so I think the two sentences above pretty much cover it. She wanted a celebration of life, and people smiling when they thought about her. Catie was smart, funny, passionate, and always so positive. She had every right to be broken by the misfortune that life threw at her. But she wasn't. Despite everything that happened, she was able to smile and laugh every day. Not only living her life in a way that made her happy, but making sure everyone around her was happy as well.
I think this will be a good place for people to come and share happy stories and memories about Catie, and remember the impact she made on all of us. Please don't hesitate to leave as many stories or pictures as you have. I know I, and many others, would love to see and read them all.
I figured I'd start us off with a story. On our first big road trip together, Catie and I drove up the coast to San Francisco. One of our stops was Big Sur and we had lunch at the Big Sur Bakery. Catie ordered a chai latte. Not being a caffeine drinker at the time, I had never heard of this and assumed was some kind of coffee. Turns out chai lattes are very tasty, and this one in particular was above average. We realized that because we spent the next few days in San Francisco trying a chai latte from every single coffee stand we passed, and throwing most of them away after a few sips. We'd set the bar too high but had a new drink to search for on all of our adventures.