WINTER KATE KEENE

January 1, 2015- July 29, 2016
WINTER KATE KEENE, 19-month-old daughter of Joe Thomas Edgar Keene (Houston) and of Melinda Thompson (Schriever), sister of Conner Thompson (Schriever), passed away unexpectedly Friday morning, July 29, 2016, at her mother’s home. Winter Kate was born Jan. 1, 2015.
Winter Kate loved holding on to her daddy’s beard, sitting on a Harley, listening to jazz music and playing her piano. As a result of a brain tumor early in life, Winter Kate lost her sight but learned to be a strong survivor.
Tradition has it when a cardinal appears, it is a visit from someone in Heaven. Winter Kate’s great-aunt, Leslie Jo Strunk Craemer, and great-grandfather, George Thomas Strunk, preceded her in death. When Winter was brought home after she was born, a cardinal would come every morning and peck the window above where she and her dad slept downstairs. When Winter Kate was in the hospital for her brain surgery, the cardinal did not come to the house until she was brought home. The cardinal came one last time and pecked the window to check on Winter Kate.
At the end of the meeting with Mr. Kees, Director of Landry’s Funeral Home, a female cardinal appeared and perched on the wires in front of her daddy at the same time nearby church bells rang. Joe Keene remarked, “It is not the right time of the year for them here” and noted the time when he heard the bells, it was 1:43 p.m. It was taken as a sign that Winter Kate knew her daddy was looking for her, still fighting to be back by her side, but now she was finally able to come see her daddy.
Now by the good grace of God, in death, no one can continue to try and break the bond this father and daughter built from the countless battles of illness, the struggle of recovery, and the pain of separation in the precious short time they enjoyed together.
An angel on earth for a short time, she leaves grieving grandparents, Katie and Joe Keene (Houston), Aunt Sara Keene (Yuval Ohana, Houston), great-grandmother Hannah Sue Owens Strunk (Ohio) and a multitude of loving family members and friends (Virginia, Ohio, Texas and Louisiana). As well as those who worked tirelessly to enhance her life, support and fundraise for her: Ochsner Hospital Doctors: Dr. A. Conravey, Dr. Alleyn, Dr. M. Fletcher and their teams, her therapists, Mr. and Mrs. John Arnold, Mr. and Mrs. David Duplantis, SYCKK Motorcycle Club, Hogs for a Cause, and employees of Cameron (Berwick).