Portland Press Harold, April 15, 1998

Kathleen A. Abbott, 45, an educator and an organizational consultant who loved the outdoors, died Monday, April 13, 1998 after a three-year struggle with breast cancer. She lived for the past several years at Casco Terrace on Falmouth Foreside. 

Ms. Abbott taught in public schools in Winthrop, Orono and Glenburn, and most recently taught health and German at South Portland High School. 

While working as a teacher, she also was a senior consultant and facilitator at Hurricane Island Outward Bound school, specializing in professional development programs. 

In 1989, she started her own business, Kathleen Abbott Associates. Using her Outward Bound experiences she established a program that helped businesses develop employee team building programs. She traveled all over the world in that job, and instructed groups from large corporations such as American Express, Sun Life of Canada and Unum. Her primary focus was on empowering people to respond creatively to the opportunities presented, teamwork and creative problem-solving. 

"Everyone appreciated her gift of laughter, and her care and concern for others," said Kathleen Alfiero, a longtime friend. "She was always trying to better herself and learn and grow." 

Ms. Abbott had a lifelong appreciation of new ideas and ways of learning, said Alfiero, and she gained certification in a variety of disciplines, including Jungian theory, Myers-Briggs testing, Human Dynamics International, individual and team empowerment, professional coaching and the ontology of language. 

"She had an absolute joy for life," said Tina Clark Edwards, a longtime friend and fellow Outward Bound instructor. "Whatever she put her energy toward, she achieved. She was a wonderful spirit." 

Ms. Abbott was an outgoing woman who made friends easily, said her sister. "She had the most beautiful smile that lit up the room. She had a multitude of friends all over the country. We didn't understand the magnitude of it until her illness. People were contacting her through flowers, phone calls, letters." 

She was one of the first female whitewater river rafting guides in Maine. She loved kayaking and qualified for the U.S. Olympic kayaking team tryouts. 

A section on the West Branch of the Penobscot River is named "Kathy's Hole,"after her. It gained its name about 20 years ago when she was a guide for the only rafting company working on the river. "It's a dangerous reversal that people sometimes get caught in," said her sister. 

Born in Bangor, a daughter of Joan Kiah Abbott and James P. Abbott, she graduated in 1971 from Brewer High School. She held bachelor's degrees in German, philosophy and health and physical education from the University of Maine at Orono. 

Surviving are her mother of Brewer; a brother, Tom Abbott of Portland; two sisters, Ann Marie Abbott of Falmouth and Patti Abbott Swan of Windham; and a special aunt and uncle, Ann and Joseph Tremble. 

Visiting hours will be from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at Conroy-Tully South Portland Chapel. A funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home. The Rev. Ken Williamson will officiate. A reception will follow at the home of Patti and Steve Swan, 309 Windham Center Road, Windham.