Katie's dedication (pictured left) displays a short message about Katie, surrounded by four photos of her
In the heart of the UO School of Music and Dance lies a room dedicated to Kathryn “Katie” Paige Frohnmayer. For years, the space fell short of capturing the essence of the young girl it honored. Lynn Frohnmayer, Katie’s mother, carried a heavy burden of disappointment. “For a long time, I was actually embarrassed about how the dedication wall looked,” she confided.
The room’s origins traced back to a poignant moment in time – the loss of Katie to complications of Fanconi anemia at the age of 12. Her parents, Lynn and David, who served as the University’s president from 1994-2009 and has since passed, were grief-stricken. Yet, they were determined to preserve their daughter’s legacy, so they initially designed a dedication wall for Katie.
As the years passed, however, it became a haunting reminder of its inadequacy. “It did not do her justice,” Lynn said. “It got to the point where, after a concert, I did not want to go into that room. It was a reminder of what I saw as our failure to do the right thing by this very wonderful, very special little girl.”
Lynn and David wanted Katie to be remembered as a joyous child whose room-illuminating smiles and infectious laughter delighted all who knew her. From an early age, they said it was obvious she had a near photographic memory. She read voraciously and could identify the title of each of her hundreds of books if only given a description of the cover. She spent all her allowance on books.
Upon discovering the family piano, she became obsessed with music, and through lessons and improvisation created an atmosphere of peace and joy that infused the Frohnmayer home and greatly enriched Lynn and David’s lives.
When Katie was only eight years old, she learned that Fanconi anemia, a genetic disease, could claim her life while she was still a child. She accepted that prognosis without self-pity or resentment, and despite serious setbacks, she was determined to make the most of the time she had. Katie’s parents were in awe of her courage.
To honor Katie’s beautiful spirit, Lynn started designing a new wall in 2022.
Lynn Frohnmayer (left) and Don Latarski (right) build Katie’s dedication wall
Now, it displays mesmerizing nature photos, taken by photographer, Don Latarski. “I think it represents her life much better because Katie was a creature of nature,” Lynn said. She and David loved watching Katie as she used to marvel at the colorful, exuberant birds that frequented their backyard feeders.
Katie also loved family reunions at Lake Shasta, where she befriended the deer, sang around the campfire, and slept with her family under the stars. A natural athlete, she excelled at water skiing, downhill skiing, biking, and tennis.
Also displayed alongside the nature photos, is the poem, Immortality. In the months before she died, Katie found great comfort in its message. “The notion that there's something in our consciousness that remains even after death, brought her peace and comfort,” Lynn said.
Now pleased with the dedication wall, Lynn believes Katie would be just as thrilled with the renovation. “I think she would find it just as beautiful as I do,” Lynn said.
