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Social worker, role model, dies at 53
December 16, 2004
Services Funeral arrangements for Kathie Giddings Troquille, 53, will be held this weekend in Coushatta and will be led by the Rev. Bill Stowell of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Shreveport. Kathie Giddings Troquille, a force for disabled people locally, died following a lengthy illness Wednesday morning. She was 53. Born in Gainesville, Texas, and raised in Shreveport's Queensborough neighborhood, Troquille became a quadriplegic at the age of 20 following a car accident in 1972. But people close to her say a physical disability, though a hardship, was no obstacle to achievement. "She was a very strong lady who did a lot of good for people in the community with very limited possibilities," said Harry Forester, minister of education at Emmanuel Baptist Church, where Troquille was a member. "When I think of Kathie, I think of courage. We're going to miss her." Troquille earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from LSU-Shreveport in 1990 and a master's degree in social work from Grambling State University in 1996. Decades of service as a social worker included special relief work at Willis-Knighton Health System, grief counseling, and leadership roles at Indoor Sports Club, an organization helping increase accessibility for handicapped people. The Pilot Club of Shreveport named her the Handicapped Professional Woman of the Year in 1984. She was named Ms. Wheelchair Louisiana in 1981. Though paralyzed from her shoulders down, Troquille learned to type, write and even paint using a stick in her mouth, completing her tasks, no matter how long it took. One of her paintings found its way to Ethel Kennedy's collection, according to Troquille's sister, Gail Pitts. A print of one of Troquille's paintings depicting a scene of Texas bluebonnets hangs in the office of Kay Asher, a clinical social worker for outpatient rehabilitation at Willis-Knighton Medical Center on Greenwood Road. "She had a lot of empathy with people," said Asher, who was a board member with Troquille at A Place that Warms the Heart, a Shreveport-based group that helps families cope with the loss of loved ones. "She could relate to them. Whether it be on an emotional level, whether or not they had disabilities, she just saw them as people." Until the end of her life, Troquille still was accomplishing goals and realizing dreams. Last summer, she went to the Grand Canyon and flew in a glider on a trip to see her brother. After living in Shreveport Manor Nursing Home for decades, she eventually fulfilled a lifelong dream when she moved into her own home in south Shreveport in 2002. ŠThe Shreveport Times
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