A Life Well Lived!!!
March16, 1937 - April 1, 2011
I vividly remember first meeting Frank Kabisch. It was around 1989 and I was manager of Washington Court Retirement in Bellevue. Due to a merger Frank had been laid off as V.P. of Human Resources at a large health care corporation in Tacoma and was job hunting. He heard about our support group for married priests and came by for lunch. WHAT A GUY !!! Bigger than life and so passionate about his identity as a married priest from the time he resigned from active ministry to marry sweet Kris.
Frank was a Brooklyn boy, so very earnest and direct, born March 16, 1937. His dad must have had a great St. Patrick’s day in celebration! He was ordained in 1965 and served as a priest in the Richmond, VA diocese where he met his wife Kris who was a nun teaching science at the minor seminary where he was on the faculty. They married in 1971, and he had a great career in HR with Marriott, then the move to Tacoma with Kris and his great kids Tara, Mike, and Tim. The kids attended Bellarmine and the family attended St. Leo’s parish. Frank continued in HR work and his final job was career counseling for military personnel transitioning to civilian life.
Frank saw himself as a “worker priest”. He brought priestly values to his everyday work……..his integrity and compassion for people was remarkable. Some of our married priests are rather quiet about their time in ministry, but not Frank. It was “out there” from the beginning. It meant high standards in his everyday life as well as his availability to provide explicit priestly ministry to others for weddings or funerals.
He was very supportive to our SEATTLE GROUP and insisted on hosting our 20th Anniversary Celebration at their lovely home in the Madera compound in Lakewood the summer of 2005. It was shortly after that event that he was diagnosed with cancer, and he has waged a courageous battle since with spectacular support from Kris and his children and their spouses..
His blog at www.96ryerson.blogspot.com kept us informed of his difficult journey. He evolved into a very sensitive, reflective man as he struggled with his own mortality and diminished mobility. His painting and writing captured that evolution along with his huge joy at the new life of his grandchildren.
We offer our love and condolences to all the Family at this great loss.