Katherine Shinault Medlin, 26, known to everyone as Katie, died February 21, 2021. Her shining presence gone so early is a great loss to all who knew and loved her. Her bravery, her adventurousness, and her deep loyalty to family and friends marked her short life. A celebration of her life will be held Monday, March 1, 2021, 2 PM at Christ United Methodist Church, 6000 Old Canton Road.
She was outgoing and active, filled with a desire to be the best even as a child. At the age of six, she wrote a book called "The Belhaven Mystery" complete with text and photographs that she hoped would be published widely and earn her lots of money. She also wrote and produced elaborate puppet shows for every family holiday. She loved live theater, appearing in four Mississippi Ballet Nutcrackers as well a number of plays at Millsaps College and New Stage Theatre. It is telling that she was disappointed when she was cast as a beautiful young woman in "The Pirates of Penzance, JR." when she really yearned to be one of the pirates.
When she was nine, she loved visiting the Jitney 14 Belhaven Farmers Market. She decided that she would become one of the vendors at the next market, making bracelets for children. That day, she made the most money of any vendor and sold out her wares. She was determined to be an altar server at her church, St Peter's Cathedral, as soon as she was eligible at the age of eight. And when she saw the Rude Boys Krewe building a St. Patrick's Day Parade float in the neighborhood, she persuaded the Krewe to allow her to join them even though she was not yet ten.
Travel for her was a great joy as a young teen. When she went to Greece, with a Millsaps College tour, she bonded easily with every Greek she met, who all called her "the girl with the beautiful eyes" for her eyes were the supposed color of the goddess Athena's eyes. The next year she took part in an archaeological project in Kaxil Kiuic: the Millsaps Biocultural Reserve in Yucatan, Mexico. There, too, she bonded with the Mayan workers at the project and loved their traditional arts. On her last day at the project, she was disappointed that the workers in the pit assigned to her grandmother Catherine hadn't found any objects that day as they had on previous ones. During the first morning break, she started to pray that something wonderful would be uncovered. Sure enough, she helped human bones to be unearthed. And her first trip New York City was seminal: she reveled in live theater, museums, famous landmarks, and visiting family.
She was also physically fearless. Her grandfather Winston taught her to fish and to hunt. She became a crack shot, an excellent carpenter, and a fine boater. And when her grandmother Bonnie gave her riding lessons for Christmas, she began her love affair with horses. Bats, cats, dogs, indeed any living creatures were also her intimates. Her friends recount how she delighted in every outdoor activity, even if a bit dangerous. And after her first sky dive, as soon as she hit the ground, she said, "Can we do that again?"
She loved that her extended family had Italian roots and enjoyed preparing all the traditional dishes for every Christmas Eve at the Feast of the Seven Fishes. But her greatest joy was her role as mother. The intimate connection between Kiley and Katie was awe-inspiring. She understood Kiley's needs, wishes, and delights deeply, and Kiley responded with an unwavering devotion. When Katie became pregnant with a second child, she realized out of love that as a single mother she could not raise that child. She found an extraordinary family to adopt her son; that family opened their hearts and home to her and Kiley as well as to her child. It then became clear to Katie that she needed to make a better life for her daughter. She resumed her college education and was determined to earn the degrees necessary to become an addictions counselor. The death of her best friend, her mother, Kore Freis Hale, this January, was a hard blow, but Katie became the bedrock for her extended family, doing everything she could to help all of them cope with that profound loss. However, because of her focus on others, she neglected her own needs.
She leaves behind her daughter, Kiley Rayne Magee; her son, Rylan Daniel Garner; her father, Bradley S. Medlin; her stepfather, Beau Daniel Hale; her brothers, Matthew and Andrew Hale; her grandparents Richard and Catherine Freis, Winston and Bonnie Walters, and Barbara Gale Hale; her uncle Bart Medlin and cousin Josh Medlin; her aunt Dee Medlin and cousins Bob, Ally, and Jeanna Medlin; her great aunt Sandra Shinault; her godparents, uncle Adam Freis and aunt Fawn Crawford Freis; and her cousins Addison and Hailey Freis as well as a number of other beloved cousins.