The council for the Town of Saint Andrews has bid an emotional farewell to former acting mayor Kate Akgai following her death in April.
Before the meeting commenced on April 27, now Acting Mayor Steve Neil opened the floor to the council.
“We all knew Kate,” Neil said. “Kate was a pretty special woman. I have been friends with her for over 20 years now.”
Neil said the two became friends through her volunteerism with the Saint Andrews Fire Department, of which Neil is a captain.
“For 20 years, I got razzed because she constantly wanted a ride in a fire truck,” he said. “She finally got that ride in the fire truck this Christmas, in the Christmas parade, which I was grateful for.”
Neil said whether you knew Akagi personally or not, she had touched the lives of everyone in the community.
Akagi, who was a grade school teacher, taught Coun. Annette Harland’s five children.
“That was pretty special,” she said. “It’s been interesting over the last week to talk with my adult children about their experiences and relationships with Kate and then I thought it was truly an honour to sit beside her at this council table.”
She said there are people who are in children’s lives, especially teachers, that make an impact — and Akagi was one of them.
Coun. Darrell Weare got to know Akagi around the council chamber.
“I was very impressed with how low-key she could be, but yet she had her eye on the ball [sic] when she had a goal in mind,” he said. “I admired her dedication to the food bank and Dial-a-Ride, the things that people kind of ignore.”
Weare and Akagi discovered mutual friendships along the way.
Coun. Lee Heenan said there was not a single community event he attended that Akagi was not there.
“I just have to say she had a heart of gold,” he said. “She was a true mentor. She could make you think rationally. She made me fish chowder [and] delivered it to my house.”
Coun. Kurt Gumushel, now a teacher himself, had Akagi as his Grade 2 teacher, he told the council.
“I remember doing yoga with Kate, I remember doing native studies … she was also a great coach and athlete,” he said.
Gumushel said Akagi stepped up to coach the curling team and helped them get to provincials in Edmundston.
“We weren’t the best listeners or the best curlers but Kate did that truly because there was nobody else very interested,” he said. “Both Kate and her brother Hugh have had a huge impact on my life and my sister’s life growing up. It was an honour to sit at the table with her, and sorry to see her gone.”
The council took a moment of silence in her memory.
And just like Akagi would have done, Neil asked for a donation of bags for the food bank — a staple statement of every Saint Andrews council meeting.
Akagi’s celebration of life will be held at the All Saints Anglican Church on May 5 at 2 p.m. For those unable to attend in person, the live stream will be available here.
