Kathleen "Kathe" Collier-Ayub

Kathe Collier, 71, loving mother and friend, passed, away on July 8, 2019. She was surrounded by her family and close friends.

Kathe was a longtime resident of Sun Valley, moving to the Wood River Valley after college in 1969 from Washington. Kathe took advantage of all the valley had to offer. She was a beautiful skier, an avid horsewoman and lover of the outdoors. Her sense of adventure and curiosity was matched when she met her husband, Bill Ayub, in 1981, with whom she had two children, Kane and Brisa.

Kathe defined what it meant to live despite the disability of surviving a trampoline accident that left her paralyzed nearly 30 years ago. She knew how to live life to the fullest regardless of her limitations. Her indomitable attitude to live a life as close to normal as possible caused her to continue to test her own limits, explore the world with her children and never take anything for granted. She did it all with intelligence, grace and a beautiful smile.

Kathe loved people. She was known for her quick wit, her infectious smile and her tenacious and courageous spirit. She loved conversations, books, stories and movies. Most of all she loved her family and her friends. Simply put, she loved living. If ever there was a quote that embodied her attitude toward life, it was one by Victor E. Frankl: “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances ... to choose one’s own way.”

Kathe was preceded in death by her loving husband, Bill Ayub, in 1995. She is survived by her two children, Kane and Brisa; her son-in-law, Gordon Reid; her granddaughters, Billie and Mason; and her sister, Linda. She is also remembered by her very dear friends and caregivers Tisa McCombs, Ginny VanDoren and Laura Pacheco.

A celebration of life ceremony will be held on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Rotary Park at 4 p.m. As per Kathe’s request: “Only colors are to be worn, leave the black for the crows.”