PTC remembers Kate Kimberley
The late Catherine Mary Kimberley, or Kate as she was best known to family and friends, had many passions and one was the sport of tennis.
A member of the Penticton Tennis Club for many years, she could often be found at the waterfront location playing on one of the club’s four hard courts.
When she wasn’t hitting the tennis ball or working on her favourite pastime of painting, Kate, wife of former Penticton mayor Jake Kimberley, would volunteer to help out wherever she was needed at the club.
So when she passed away in 2016 at age 70 following her journey with cancer, the PTC decided to honour her memory with the Kate Kimberley Ladies Singles Tournament.
“Kate was a good friend and she loved tennis and we played lots of tournaments together and I just felt it would be a nice tribute to her,” said tourney organizer and PTC member Janice Taylor, remembering their times together.
“She wasn’t a top-notch player or anything like that, but she always had a good attitude and we had fun together, that was the important part.
“She loved being out in nature more than anything else and loved the four seasons so for her to be out playing tennis in late October under the lights with a moon in the sky, she would just love that.”
In the obituary she prepared, Kate said in addition to her family she had been “blessed” with many close friends who helped her, not only during her illness, but her entire adult life.
She wrote, “You all know who you are. My tennis buddies, my yoga buddies, my art buddies, my hiking buddies, and my cross-country skiing buddies.”
Her family, including the Kimberley’s sons Sean and Kevin have taken part in past tournament activities and prints of Kate’s artwork have also been given out as thank you cards for participants or framed as a division prize.
This year’s event is Saturday, Sept. 24 and the entry deadline is Sept. 17 with a limit of 16 entrants (club members only). Action gets underway at 8 a.m.
It is one of two major events of the month, coming on the heels of the 100th Birks Cup men’s doubles tournament slated to go Sept. 17-18.
It is believed to be one of the longest- running tournaments in B.C. and attracts players from throughout the Okanagan and beyond.
For more information about the PTC and events visit: pentictontennisclub.com