In Memory of Kasie Collins

GOAL: To raise funds to be used to make improvements and maintain the dog park and surrounding trails at Dufresne Park in Granby, MA, now and in the future, in memory of Kasie Collins. We'd love to completely blow this goal away. Our hope is to raise enough money to be able to also have the dog park named as a memorial to Kasie. Any funds raised that are not used at Dufresne Park will be donated to Thomas J. O'Conner Animal Control and Adoption Center, in Springfield, MA, where Kasie adopted her beloved cat, Mr. Meeks.

If you are visiting this page it is because you already know the incredible impression that Kasie left on every person and space she encountered. Kasie would immediately light up any room with her bold personality, her light-hearted and spunky spirit, her commitment to unceasing reliability in showing up for others, and her determination to take decisive action that resulted in her own brand of high-quality, real-life impact. Kasie's mom would often say that she was, "Classy, sassy, and a little bad-assy."

Kasie showed consistently. She was reliable. She was steadfast. If she was your friend, she would be there checking in on you. If she was your colleague, she held herself to the highest standard because she knew she represented herself, you and a whole team of other people. If you were her animal, she would love you fiercely every day, make sure you knew it with "all the pets", brushing, tick removing, ear cleaning, and cuddling you could get.

And, if you were gifted the opportunity to meet the Kasie behind the boisterous laughter, sharp wit, and can-do attitude, you know that what Kasie loved most were the simple things and the quiet spaces. In fact, she felt most at home being of simple but understated service to others, going about taking care of all the unnoticed things behind the scenes, but in a way that would create a solid and powerful anchor of stability for each life she touched.

And, what she loved most... was quiet time in the expansiveness of the outdoors with her animals. Eight years ago Kasie adopted her dog Luna, with her partner Ben. If you are reading this, you already know that Kasie's love for Luna has no end. She would often joke about the complexities of the "Luny" love triangle where, "Luny loves Ben best, and Ben loves me best, and I love Luny best." She would also like to say that one day she would come back as a dog, and that Luna would come back as her human.

Since adopting Luna, Kasie has been visiting the dog park at Dufresne Park in Granby, MA just about every single weekend that she was home. For Kasie, the dog park was her religion, the trail and woods her sanctuary, and Luna her trusted companion. Kasie and Luna quickly became staples at the dog park, Luna being the one who would eagerly introduce herself to every human by jumping up on the picnic table and rubbing her sopping mop-like fur all up against you, as she presided over the goings-on, and Kasie the one who would introduce herself to every person saying, "Yeah, she's mine." 

Kasie and Luna had their group of people and pets at the dog park. The group would meet almost every week, and for Kasie, they were some of the first real friends she made while making her home in Western Massachusetts. And, the group would always be expanding largely because Kasie was always befriending and pulling in some new dog-walker and pet, wanting to be sure that everyone was included and and felt like they belonged to the space. The dog park was the place that Kasie felt she most belonged to, and it was her gift to welcome everyone she could into that same feeling of belonging.

When we think of Kasie, we can think of no better way to honor her - legacy of service to others, her commitment to practical impact, and her love of nature and living things - than to raise money to support the dog park space and ensure that it is around for years to come to welcome current and future nature lovers and dog walkers to a space where they too can live into the connection, play and solitude of the space.

Kasie's family will be working with the Town of Granby and the parks commission to ensure that every dollar of this campaign is used to maintain and improve the dog park space and the walking trails of Dufresne Park as a memorial to Kasie. It is our hope to be able to make enough of a contribution that the dog park space can also be named in memory of Kasie.

If you had the opportunity to experience the magic of Kasie, if you've had the indelible imprint of magic made on your life, and if you'd like to do something in her memory that would support a space that she loved most and made such an imprint on her, we would ask that you consider contributing to this effort. Kasie would tell you she was a nonconformist. She didn't want a plot in a graveyard taking up valuable space on the planet. We want this to be the space that can be a living testament to her, in service to others.

And, thank you. Thank you for loving our Kasie so well, and in precisely the way she would want to be loved.

More Details:

Who we are: The family of Kasie Collins, including Kasie's ex-husband, Ben Delozier, her parents Brian and Ellen, and her siblings Briana and Keith. Ben lives in Greenfield, MA, just a couple towns away from the dog park. Kasie's parents and her brother, Keith, live in Kasie's hometown of Averill Park. Briana currently lives in Wisconsin.

How the funds will be used: The funds raised will be used to make improvements to the dog park and surrounding trails at Duefrense Park in Granby, MA. These improvements may include improvements to the driveway to the park, improvements to the soils and drainage around the dog park, expansion of the fenced in area of the dog park, the inclusion of water features for dogs, or construction of foot bridges in the wet areas of the trails behind the dog park. All work is subject to the approval of the Town of Granby.

As an immensely gracious and generous gift, landscape architects and environmental engineers from Kasie's company, GZA Geoenvironmental have graciously volunteered their time to support the drafting of a proposal/design to submit to the town. This will be the first step. There will likely be some back and forth with the town, but as soon as plans are approved, we will move forward on implementation. We will be sure to send out updates as we hit each milestone.

Funds will be managed by the family, and will be released to the town, designers, and contractors after the plans are concretized and funds budgeted to line items accordingly.

The intention is to use all funds on the dog park project as delineated above. In the case that any funds raised are not used at Dufresne Park, they will be donated to Thomas J. O'Conner Animal Control and Adoption Center, in Springfield, MA, where Kasie adopted her beloved cat, Mr. Meeks.