Memorializing what made Kristy smile

October weather can be finicky, rainy, windy, cold and even snow. But the day Road Rangers Motor Cycle Club paid tribute to Kristy-Anne Coski was mild, sunny and uplifting. It reminded Kathy Manders of her daughter’s smile, and it couldn’t be a more fitting day to honor Kristy.

Like Kristy’s smile, the Road Rangers run was a spontaneous response to a tough time. As Kathy’s husband Peter explained Saturday, Rangers president Michael Giorgi suggested the club hold a run in memory of Kristy, who died Sept. 10, 2016 at the age of 41. It mushroomed. Seventy to 80 riders took to the highway on Oct. 23 while others worked on the fixings of a feast that included roast pig that brought together an estimated 300 people. The event raised more than $5,500, money that is now going toward two of Kristy’s passions, dancing and the rescue of dogs.

Kristy didn’t have an easy life. Her kidneys failed and in her 20s, Kathy donated one of her kidneys to her daughter. A second kidney transplant was made later, and still Kristy was not out of the woods. Toward the end she was paralyzed, yet, says Kathy, “she never gave up.” She said her daughter’s “first concern was for you and never for herself.”

Peter and Kathy believe much of her concern, care and interest in others came from dance teacher Carolyn Dutra. She took lessons and was a regular at the studio for 14 years. Then there was the Warwick Animal Shelter. Kristy loved the work of the shelter, where she adopted Buttercup, a year-old abandoned dog. The dog is now with Steve Xenopoulos, Kristy’s fiancé of 10 years.

So when it came to gifting the proceeds from the run, Kathy and Peter could think of no better recipients than Carolyn Dutra and the Warwick Animal Shelter. Recently, they gave Dutra $2,500 that will be used to help pay for some scholarships and perhaps outfits that some kids couldn’t afford. The $1,700 going to the shelter will assist with operations there.

Ann Corvin, shelter director, received the check Saturday at the breakfast and raffle hosted by the Friends of the Warwick Animal Shelter at the Norwood Baptist Church. Peter is hopeful the Kristy run will become an annual event and even larger so that funds continue flowing to both groups.

Kathy believes that would be a wonderful tribute. Kristy would have approved. She pulls out a wallet photo of Kristy.

“She had an infectious smile,” Kathy says, wiping her eyes. And indeed it is. Kathy was smiling.