Remembering Kim Blankenship

Last year, Moody Nolan lost one of our own. In December of 2013, our friend and coworker Kim Blankenship fought her last and final battle. For over 18 years, Kim gifted us with her expertise as a designer and project manager in our interior architecture department. She was a motivated worker, who was focused and highly respected by her clients and colleagues alike. Mostly quiet, she could be surprisingly funny, bitingly sarcastic, or sometimes just a bit philosophical. When you heard a roaring laugh down the hall, you always knew it was Kim delivering an expertly timed joke.

Professionally, Kim was the person that you wanted working on your projects. She seemed to do the work of three people, but was always consistent and steady in her approach. She collaborated with those around her in a gentle, nonthreatening way and her dedication to her work was unparalleled. Even sending emails from her laptop post-surgery, telling her team that, “Though she would have to learn to breathe and walk again, she would be back to work in no time!”

Her approach to her work was similar to her approach in her personal life. Her husband Garth and daughters Leah and Ava were her world. She lit up when she spoke about them and would never miss Garth’s daily call at 3:00 p.m. on his way into work. They would talk about the girls and she would giggle like a teenager while they spoke.

Kim never took things too seriously and never had a bad word to share. She had a full picture of life. She would always help out when and where needed, and her teammates at Moody Nolan often sought out her expertise. She was diligent, dedicated and carried a silent sense of pride in all that she accomplished.

Despite her health issues Kim never lost her sense of humor, never stopped being a tireless worker, never stopped being a strong wife and mother, and never lost perspective of what was truly important in life. She was a rare and admirable combination of quiet strength and humility, and it was a privilege to have been able to call her a member of the Moody Nolan family. She is greatly missed by all of us here, but her legacy lives on in her family and in our memories of her. We strive every day to honor Kim by emulating her grace, fortitude and joy for life: which is, in turn, our legacy to her.