You meet a lot of folks in this line of work, candidly a lot of really good folks. Just like in any walk of life you connect more naturally with some folks than others.
I had a hard time writing about Kathie because she is one of the people I’ve met covering politics that I consider a friend. Someone I confided in, and it’s hard to write about her in the past tense.
She was not just a friend, but one of those rare mixes of people who are a friend, a mentor, a motherly figure, an example, and someone who you would always want to stand in the back of the room with at a political event and gossip with.
And she was a tried and true Cardinals fan. We always saw eye to eye on that.
To most folks Kathie was a very talented and high profile legislator. She was from St. Charles County, but don’t get the wrong idea. Kathie was a part of the Tom Dempsey era St. Charles County politics.
She was a talented legislator. Kathie had the respect of all of her colleagues, with a large group of Democrats who respected and admired her.
Of course everyone remembers the group of blonde women who ran in a pack and who no one really wanted all fired up about them at once.
One of that crew is former Rep. Shelia Solon, who was kind enough to share a few of her thoughts with me, “Kathie was an inspiring colleague, but more importantly, my friend. Kathie was fiercely loyal, equally kind, opinionated and stubborn. Kathie was true to herself. Each and every day, she was herself, a conservative Republican, who put this state and its people above politics. No one worked harder on our state’s budget than Kathie. Her intelligence and strong work ethic earned her respect from both sides of the aisle. She leaves those of us who loved and respected her so saddened by the loss, but even more grateful to have known such a magnificent person who always put others first. She made us all better people for knowing her”.
I truly enjoyed talking baseball and politics with Kathie, but I’ll probably remember our talks about family more than any other. We never had a good visit without her telling me some story about what her and Pat were up to, or asking about Gussie and Millie.
However, it wasn’t politics, or the Cardinals, that was her passion, it was her son Ryan. Ryan is a talented lawyer and an official in the Parson administration, but all that pales in comparison to being Kathie Conway’s son. She loved him more than anything in the world, my heart is broken for him.
A friend of mine, and a huge fan of Kathie’s, Robert Knodell, gave me a few thoughts about her, “My heart breaks. Kathie was a tremendous public servant and person of courage, but so much more than that. I watched her mentor so many legislators. Especially female members, many of whom advanced to powerful positions in the House and beyond. I heard Kathie say many times, “public service isn’t about what you SAY when the microphones are on; it is about what you DO when you think nobody is looking.” I will miss her integrity and courage, her gallows humor when the Cardinals or Blues weren’t playing well, and above all her friendship.”
In the end I suppose its often hard to maintain your passion while living a world that demands pragmatism. Kathie had a knack for coming into situations and negotiating compromises to actually impact the state.
While I watched her brandish her reputation for pragmatism, but if you wanted to see her red lines, I saw one with Eric Greitens. She stood silent about him for a long time. However, when she, “had enough of him” that was it. With her background investigating sex crimes she was a very respected voice in her caucus.
When she got there, there wasn’t a more passionate or effective advocate of seeing a corrupt Governor removed from office.
Kathie was one of a kind, and I suspect there will never be another one like her.
Scott Faughn is the publisher of The Missouri Times, owner of the Clayton Times in Clayton; SEMO Times in Poplar Bluff; and host of the only statewide political television show, This Week in Missouri Politics.
