East Washingtonian - Your Hometown News Source

POMEROY-Special Education Para-pro Kathy Hilde Feider, a woman with a big heart and gentle nature, has retired after serving the children of the school district here 22 years.

Feider was born in Mt. Vernon, Wash., in the Puget Sound area, and lived on a dairy farm until she left for college. She attend high school in Stanwood, Wash., a farming community located on the water of Puget Sound, and college at Washington State University (WSU) in Pullman, Wash. She received a B.A. degree in Child and Family Studies, where she learned psychology and how to work with young children. Feider met her husband Rich while in college, and were married in 1973. They made their home in Colfax, Wash. until the Feiders returned to Pomeroy in 1976. Together they had four children, Amy, Gretchen, Aaron Jon, and Greg, and in total they have five granddaughters.

In the early years, Feider operated an in-home day care for 25 years, both in Pullman, Wash., and when she moved to Pomeroy. When Feider started with the Pomeroy School District, she signed on as a one-on-one aide to a child with specific needs for two years. When that position was no longer needed, she moved to the Jr./Sr. High school as a resource aide for 12 years. When the opportunity arose to return to the elementary school, she jumped at it. She said she loved working with the adolescents, but she has always had a special love for the younger kids. And that was where she stayed for the remaining eight years with the district, mostly in the first-grade classroom.

Reading is one of her most favorite activities for herself, and she loves to share that affinity with her students. She said her own children often tease her that her living room looks more like a library.

Feider has been instrumental in setting up and facilitating the "Backpack Program" at the school, which is made possible by support from the Holy Rosary Catholic Church as well as other churches in Pomeroy, and grants from several other sources. Together with Joanne and Mike Cassetto, they keep the pantry stocked, write grants for funding, and prepare the backpacks for distribution to students to take home on Fridays. The program is still ongoing for the summer through the Free Summer Breakfast and Lunch Program at the Nazarene Church. Feider says she will continue to run the backpack program as long as possible. She also serves as secretary for both the Friends of the Library and the Holy Rosary Church Council.

Her immediate plans for retirement include a trip to Montana to visit son Aaron Jon, and brother Kent, and just taking some time to relax. She says she has lots of books to read. She is considering some volunteering opportunities, such as reading to students at school, helping to support the Friends of the Library, baking (for others), and helping with funeral dinners and church gatherings. What she is well known for is singing, which she still does often at weddings and funerals.