Good Samaritan Program brings couple together

Kathleen Blodgett

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Kathleen and Christopher Blodgett walked down the aisle in the Cathedral of the Madeleine on Aug. 17, 2002; the couple's 11th anniversary this year may be their last because he has been diagnosed with brain cancer. Courtesy photo/Kathleen Blodgett

SALT LAKE CITY — The love story between Kathleen and Christopher Blodgett began in 1989 over a sandwich: They met while volunteering at the Good Samaritan program at the Cathedral of the Madeleine.

"We were both searching for what God wanted for us in our lives," said Kathleen Blodgett. "Chris’ sister suggested he volunteer there and I decided to volunteer there because I was a Cathedral parishioner."

Chris had the early morning shift and Kathleen’s shift followed.

"I started coming in a little early, and he started staying later," said Kathleen. "We would make bologna sandwiches together and kind of dance around, having fun. We started out as dear friends, and I never knew he had a crush on me."

The routine continued for six years until Kathleen’s father died in 1994 and she took a leave from making sandwiches to help her mother.

While Kathleen was grieving, she forgot a lunch date she had with Chris and called him five months later to see what had happened to him. He told her he had waited for her that day.

Two months later, in January of 1995, Chris asked Kathleen out.

"On our first date we saw ‘The Lion King,’ at the dollar theater; it became very special to us and we’ve seen it so many times," said Kathleen. "We dated seven years before we were married."

The couple will celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary on Aug. 17. However, they will never see their silver or golden wedding anniversary; Chris has brain cancer and doctors have said he has three months to live.

"We’re soul mates – we are two peas in a pod," said Kathleen. "I don’t think I can live without him, but Chris tells me not to worry."

Kathleen said her husband is very handsome, and when he was in the hospital, "I had a lot of competition, so I had to tell him remember me, I’m the one with the lipstick," she said. "And he would just make everybody laugh. He has been given the gift of joy."

Chris talks a lot about crossing to the other side now, said Kathleen. "He has seen heaven in his dreams and said our purpose in this world is to love God and to go to heaven. He also said that the angels are magnificently beautiful and that they are everywhere."

Kathleen said her father always told her she wasn’t going to marry a rich man, she was going to marry an honest, hardworking, good man who loved God.

"And then I met the man of my dreams," said Kathleen.

For the past 17 years, Chris worked as a paraprofessional in special education at Jordan Valley School for the Severely Disabled, working with students who are 3 to 22, said Kathleen, who has worked as a receptionist at Saint Joseph Villa for the past 13 years.

"He calls the students his angels," Kathleen said. "He took the attitude that you treat others as you would want to be treated; he was gentle with them and they were usually well behaved. He has the patience of a saint because he did everything from tube feeding to changing, to taking them to the pool before he became ill and went on long-term disability. It was hard for him to give up because whatever he does, he does 200 percent, even in our marriage."

Through the years, Chris and Kathleen have kept God at the center of their lives and have always forgiven one another, she said.

"We’ve had spats, but when we do we say ‘We love God and we are so sorry,’" said Kathleen. "That has been such an anchor because it has kept us going through the ups and downs that life hands out, especially what we are facing now."

The couple has worked together on many different charitable fundraisers, including the Carmelite Fair and American Cancer Society Relay for Life.