Kathy Smith Dehlic

Our beloved earth angel Kathy Smith Dehlic, from Gulf Breeze, Florida and formerly from Paola and Overland Park, Kansas, made a May Day entrance to heaven on May 1, 2018. Mary Kathryn Smith was the first of seven children born to Ken and Ruth Smith of Paola, Kansas. She was born April 7, 1941 at Iola, Kansas. In 1964, she became a registered nurse and married Henry Dehlic of Kansas City. They had three sons: Mike, Chris and Steve. Her long nursing career began at St. Margaret Hospital in Kansas City, Kansas, continued as a staff nurse at Osawatomie State Hospital and as a Nursing Home Surveyor for the State of Kansas, and ended as a Nurse Auditor at Overland Park Regional Medical Center, Overland Park, Kansas. She retired in 2011 and moved to the Pensacola Beach area in Florida in 2013. The consummate caregiver, Kathy was all about others. As a nurse, she encouraged old-fashioned, patient-centered care. As a daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, niece, aunt and friend, she gave of herself with unmatched devotion. We could always count on Kathy for nurturing love, emotional and physical support, sincere caring and deep understanding. Over and over, spanning decades, she delivered. Positive and nonjudgmental, she offered those around her gentle, compassionate advice, compliments, morale boosters and wisdom sayings. Anchored by a deep faith, she found signs of it everywhere-- in monarch butterflies, cardinals, seashells, rolling waves, deer, clouds, angels --and, unfailingly, the person in front of her. She is survived by her sons Mike (Diana) of Lee's Summit, MO and Chris (Erika) of Milton, GA; grandchildren Kendric, Drew, Blaise, Katelyn and Thomas; brothers Ken Smith, Les Smith and Dale Smith of Paola, Dave Smith of Overland Park, KS, George Smith of Stansbury Park, UT; sister, Barbara Mainz of Goddard, KS; nieces, nephews, aunts, cousins and friends. She was preceded in death by her youngest son, Steve and her parents. Donations may be made in her name to Children's Mercy Hospital, 2401 Gillham Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108. Burial will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Paola beside her long-missed Steve. Family and friends are encouraged to post their condolences and memories on Kathy's Tribute Wall.