TW_12.16.13_Edition.pdf - St. John Tradewinds News

St. John Tradewinds, December 16-22, 2013 17
Obituary
First CBCC Bizarre Bazaar Draws Hundreds of Residents
Continued from Page 5
the winning IPA from St. Thomas. Jason Hayman
and Jeff McCrave of St. John represented Love City
well in the competition.
“The beer competition was definitely very popular,”
said Groves. “The whole food and beverage
area seemed to be super busy throughout day.”
Although food and beverage sales were strong
during the bazaar, CBCC still has several Mixology
Cards left to sell, Groves added.
“The cards are a really good deal,” she said. “For
$20 you get a signature cocktail at seven different
Coral Bay restaurants.”
Stop by the CBCC office to buy a card for $20,
which entitles one to a signature drink at Skinny
Legs, Shipwreck Landing, Aqua Bistro, Miss Lucy’s,
Tourist Trap, Concordia Cafe and Island Blues.
With such a huge turnout for this year’s bazaar,
CBCC officials are certainly planning to host the
event again next year.
“I would have to say that we’re definitely going
to do it again,” said Groves. “We haven’t had our
debriefing meeting yet, but we did try to get a lot
of feedback from people. I’m sure there are things
we’ll look at doing better or differently.”
For the CBCC volunteers and organizers who
hosted the event, seeing the crowded yard made up
for months of hard work, Groves explained.
“We’ve been working on this since August,” she
said. “It felt great to have it not be a disaster and not
be pouring rain.”
The day would not have been such a great success
without the help of numerous volunteers and Pickles
in Paradise owner Bev Melius, Grove added.
Kristi K. Downing
Kristi K. Downing, 77, Passes Away
St. John Tradewinds
Kristi K. Downing, Kristi, age 77, of Grand Marais, MN, and Coral
Bay, St. John, passed away peacefully on December 5, 2013 after a brief
but brutal recurrence of cancer.
Kristi was a beloved free spirit who was an artist in the kitchen and in
clay. She nourished and nurtured others with her incomparable hospitality
and unconditional love. She was a teacher and a healer at heart.
Kristi was born August 23, 1936 in Neenah, WI. She graduated from
high school in Eau Claire and followed her mother and brothers to St.
Olaf College. She was a stewardess at Northwest Orient Airlines and
taught high-school English in Bloomington, MN.
In 1962 she moved to Rochester with her then-husband Lawrence
Downing. A year later, they moved to Oronoco and raised their small
family on the banks of Lake Shady. In 1980, she went back to school to
get her Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. After that she
moved to the Twin Cities and worked as a counselor and rehabilitation
consultant, and eventually ran her own business.
At age 55, Kristi was diagnosed with breast cancer and it was a turning
point in her life. She bought a small, rustic cabin and floated it in to a
beachfront lot on Hut Point, her family’s land northeast of Grand Marais
on the shores of Lake Superior. She named the cabin KK Sera, reflecting
her “what will be will be” philosophy of life.
At age 62 she retired, sold her Minneapolis condo and moved to her
beloved cabin “KK.” A few years later she built an adjacent studio, and
KKD Pottery was born — a dream come true after decades of potting.
She began taking extended winter trips to the homes she built with
her brothers on the hillside overlooking Coral Bay, forging a remarkable
community of friends and adding to her expansive Sloop Jones clothing
collection. She loved being a part of the island life on St. John.
Kristi was an extraordinary mother and grandmother to daughter Kyia
(Kirk Horsted) and their children, Jesper and Elsa; and son Christopher
(Teri) and their blended family: Liz, Sue, Brit, Becca, Austin, Tia, Kylie,
Jack and great-grandchildren Amelia, Becker and Eli. She is survived by
her three big brothers Oz (Jean), Joel (Louise) and Mark (Donna) Anderson,
numerous nieces and nephews, and countless friends from Thunder
Bay to Coral Bay and from Napa to Montauk.
Memorials should be directed to North House Folk School in Grand
Marais MN, where the family plans to establish a KKD mentorship
scholarship to encourage and support promising artists.