There will be a retirement party for Crossroads House founder Kathy Panepento from 4 to 7 p.m. June 21 at the Legacy Living Center, the second site for Crossroads House, at 409 E. Main St., Batavia. Everyone is invited to the tent to be set up in the parking lot with hors d’oeuvres, cake and punch during this time as an opportunity for people to come out and send her off with best wishes and fond recollections.
Crossroads has served more than 600 patients over the years, Director Tracy Ford said, and Panepento will be spending some well-deserved time off with her husband Frank.
“At Crossroads House, we lead with compassion. And no one embodies compassion more than our beloved founder, Kathy Panepento. For the past 26 years, she has challenged us all to find new and meaningful ways to support families with dying loved ones. Under her guidance, the community has rallied around and lifted up the families of Crossroads House,” Ford said. “We are incredibly thankful for Kathy's contributions, and it is with warm hearts that we share the news of her decision to embark on a journey of travel and quality time with her husband and grandchildren this summer. Don’t call it a retirement, but rather a new way to share her compassion with her own family.
“I hope I will be able to continue her legacy,” Ford said. “She will be available as a consultant and as a trainer for the end-of-life doula program. Kathy’s an amazing lady, and we’re going to miss her.”
During her retirement party, Panepento hopes to see many of the families they have taken care of these past years, discharge planners, hospice workers, and all of the faces that have created a memory of some sort.
Some people have surmised there’s a negative situation that has prompted Panepento’s departure, but that’s not it at all, she said. In fact, “if it was in disarray, I wouldn’t be leaving.”
“Our new director, Tracy Ford, is incredible. When you leave, you want to hand the baton to competent people,” she said. “It’s in the best place it’s been in a long time.”
If interested in the end-of-life doula training program, contact Panepento at 585-201-0048.
Guests are asked to register for the retirement party by June 14. Email your RSVP to tracyford@crossroadshouse.com or call 585-297-8937.
