#KATHYSTRONG

Where Love, Strength and Kindness Live…

ABOUT #KATHYSTRONG

#KATHYSTRONG is a way of life—a way of finding and channeling your inner strength to overcome even the obstacles that seem impossible to overcome. Kathleen Martha (Nemeth) Tilden was just 47 when she was diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of cancer called Histiocytosis, which developed from the Chronic Leukemia Lymphoma she had been diagnosed with two years earlier. After a hard-fought and incredibly painful four-month battle, Kathy was taken from us far too soon, leaving behind her husband, Marshall, and her two young children, James and Carolina. But Kathy was strong long before cancer ever entered her life. She was strong in the way she loved, the way she cared for others, the way she faced challenges and the way she lived every single day. And when cancer came, that strength became extraordinary.

Kathy battled her disease with a tenacity and unwavering courage that few people could ever understand. Even those closest to her often had no idea how much pain and suffering she endured because she simply didn’t want her struggles to become someone else’s burden. That was Kathy—and that is #KATHYSTRONG. Until her final moments, she fought. She fought for life, for another day, for her family and for the people she loved. She leaves behind a strength that we can all draw upon when life becomes difficult. We miss her beyond words, but we keep her spirit alive in our hearts, in the way we treat others, and in the way we choose to live our lives. To be #KATHYSTRONG isn’t to pretend that life is always easy; it is to find the courage to keep moving forward when it isn’t.

Kathy would be, and is, incredibly proud of James and Carolina. They have carried her strength, love, determination and passion into everything they do, whether in the classroom, on the field or simply in the way they live their lives. Watching them grow, succeed and overcome their own challenges is both inspiring and bittersweet, because we know how much Kathy would want to be here to see it all. Her spirit and legacy live on through them, and we feel her presence guiding them every step of the way. We will always wish she were here, and there will never be a day when we don’t miss her. But we can honor Kathy by living the way she lived—loving deeply, fighting through adversity, supporting the people around us and never giving up.

That is #KATHYSTRONG. And she would not have it any other way.

Kathy After Completing The 2016 NYC Marathon!

Carolina & James (CJ) Wine Story and label

Carolina and James are Kathy and Marshall’s two incredible children. In July of 2024, they lost their mom to a rare and devastating combination of cancers (lymphoma and histiocytosis). Rather than letting tragedy define them, Carolina and James have carried forward with courage and determination, always supported by their mom’s strength.

In her Honor, we have created this wine dedicated to Kathy and to the unwavering strength of #KathyStrong! A percentage of all proceeds from CJ Wines will be donated to cancer research. Kathy loved enjoying wine with family and friends, and many of Kathy and Marshall’s most treasured memories were created in California Wine Country.

In fact, I’ll never forget our first Sonoma vacation in 2006. I had just started working for Wine Enthusiast after leaving a career in finance. Stepping into the wine world professionally felt like being handed a key to a long-imagined dream. I’d planned a few days of tastings and was giddy just thinking about it. Having only ever seen all these famous winery names on labels, simply driving past their signs on the first day felt unreal.

St. Francis, the producer of some of my favorite Red wines, wasn’t on our list that day, but we happened to drive past their vineyard. “Let’s check it out before we go to the hotel,” I said. Kathy agreed, with one stipulation: “Can we just enjoy a tasting and not make this about work?” I was happy to oblige, although part of the fun was meeting all the wine-industry folks and nerding out over their wines.

We sat at the bar, and the hostess asked if we were doing a tasting. “Yes,” I said, “and I’m curious, do you offer trade discounts? I work at Wine Enthusiast,” showing her my business card. Kathy gave me a snarky look. “Thank you so much for coming!” the hostess said. “Instead of staying at the bar, why don’t you enjoy a reserve tasting out on the veranda? And if you’d like, you could stay for our chef’s wine-and-food pairing as well.”

It was an easy yes. We made our way to the veranda, which offered a stunning view of the vineyard. We had never been in an environment like this before, and our jaws hit the floor. We basked in the sun and sipped on their otherworldly Pagani Vineyard Reserve Zinfandel. No longer salty about me bringing up work, she drew me close and whispered in my ear, “Do you have enough of those business cards for the entire trip?” I smiled, nodded, and kissed her. We were both so happy in that moment.

One of these days, I’ll visit St. Francis again. And I know Kathy will be waiting for me out on the veranda in spirit, holding a glass, saying how she can’t believe we’re here right now and how beautiful everything still is.

The 13th Annual Kisco 5K and Kids Mad Dash will take place on September 20,2026

One of Mount Kisco’s favorite events is back for a 13th year and we are excited for the Mount Kisco Volunteer Fire Department to continue the tradition of #kathystrong. Last year was incredibly successful and we look forward to much of the same. We are currently accepting sponsorship for these events. Please contact 5k@Kiscofire.com if you are interested. This year, all proceeds from the race will go to training and equipment for our dedicated volunteers!

The race will be held in honor of Kathy Tilden. Kathy has always had a pivotal role in the 5K. She quickly knew that the Kisco 5K would blossom into something special. A couple of years after the 5K began, Kathy became the Race Director. From this point on, KT made it her mission to better the race year to year. KT welcomed all with a warm smile and calm demeanor, even in the craziest of circumstances. She was a huge help to the Fire Department, allowing us to get up and running in no time flat. We will all certainly miss Kathy, but we know she will be watching over us on the 20th!

Kathy’s Obituary 7/3/2024

Kathleen (Kathy) Martha Tilden left this world at the young age of 47 after a hard-fought battle with an extremely rare combination of cancers. Kathy was loved by all. She was a shining light of joy and inspiration, and the embodiment of strength to all who knew her. And she was funny. So so funny.

Born on February 11, 1977 in Jackson Heights, NY to Laszlo and Martha Nemeth, Kathy attended Our Lady of Fatima elementary school and graduated from Bryant High School. The friendships she formed in Jackson Heights lasted throughout her life.

Kathy was born at the Physician’s Hospital. The building was later turned into a school, so perhaps it was predestined that she went into the education field and worked as a Speech and Language Pathologist for the NYC Department of Education for almost 25 years.

Kathy met the love of her life, Marshall, in NYC in 2003 while she was working on her graduate degree. They were married on February 16, 2008, and two years later they welcomed their first child, James. Their daughter Carolina was born two years after that, and their beautiful family was complete.

Kathy was a loving and devoted mother to James and Carolina, whom she loved more than anything in the world. She was a dedicated baseball and softball mom, and rarely missed an opportunity to watch her children’s games. She volunteered in many of their activities. Even at the end of her life, through her pain, her number one priority was showing up for her children’s events.

Kathy was also known for being an athlete. She had a passion for running and fitness, competing in over 20 half marathons and the NYC Marathon in 2016. Her passion for running inspired her to help organize the local Mount Kisco 5K with her running crew, the “Bad Mother Runners.” She was also a true animal lover and was rarely seen without a foster dog, as she and her family were heavily involved in the dog rescue community.

Kathy’s greatest joy was spending time with family, be it sleepovers with her nieces and nephews, whom she adored, or holiday get-togethers. Kathy enjoyed hosting holidays and having a “full house.”

Kathy was a selfless and giving person. She put others before herself. She embodied strength and determination, and inspired everyone around her. Kathy’s strength, compassion and sense of humor will be remembered by everyone who knew her.

The rare combination of her two forms of cancer made Kathy joke that she was “one in a million.” In truth, she was more than that! She was the kind of person that comes along once in a lifetime, and she will live on in the memories of the people who were fortunate enough to have had her in their lives.

Kathy is survived by her loving husband of 16 years, Marshall; her children James and Carolina; her parents Laszlo and Martha; her sisters Maria and Judy; her brothers-in law George and Alex; her father-in-law and mother-in-law Marshall and Josette; her brother-in-law and sister-in-law Craig and Alexa; and her many nieces and nephews: Lauren, George, Nate, Lucas, Ava, Kirsten, Craig, and Jesse.

Kathy Running the NYC Half for the Epilepsy Foundation!

How I met Your Mother, Kathy

Kathy and I met outside of The Black Sheep Bar in NYC in 2003. She was a graduate student in her Speech Language Pathology program that she was taking with a group of City Educators. One of her fellow students was married to a friend that was working with me as an equities trader in NYC. One night I was out with a couple of friends and he called me sort of late in the evening, around 10:30 or so. He said ‘Dude, you gotta come to this bar. Some of my wife’s friends are here and they are so much fun’ also alluding to them being easy on the eyes. It was a Thursday night, so I figured there was certainly another stop in our evening. So I swung down to the bar and they were all hanging outside the bar chatting and smoking cigarettes… yes, Kathy was known to have an occasional cigarette back in the day. And this was when NYC had just passed the law of no smoking in the bars, so the outside of bars became the best social scene in the city.

I was drawn to her right away, and went right up to her and asked if she had a light. I think she asked me if I had one (which I did) and we started chatting a bit outside the bar over a Parliament light. After a bit, we all went back in and were having a beer at the bar. For some reason Kathy had these tongs that she was using to drink, and she was showing off her skills of how she could drink a beer using salad tongs. I said, well how about we see if I can do better. But she wouldn’t let me use her tongs, she said I needed my own… in a witty, sort of flirty manner. I obliged, but made her come with me to the deli next door so she could set up a distraction for me. And she did so, in only a way that ‘rock star’ Kathy could do so. She came into the deli and started chatting it up with the man at the register, asking him questions that I can’t recall .. but she had him so engaged. She purchased an RC Cola (I only remember that because I hadn’t seen it since I was a kid!) and as she distracted him, I grabbed a pair of tongs from the salad bar (sorry, Lord) and we went back to the bar to finish our beers.

We laughed, chatted and innocently flirted throughout the night and it got late fast, as we both knew we had something special happening. I remember when she told me her name was Kathy Nemeth (pronounced Namath), I asked if she was related to Joe Namath. She said ‘who… Uncle Joe? Of course! We see him like every Sunday for dinner’. Now, mind you I had never met anyone with the last name Nemeth, so I bought into this hook, line and sinker asking if I could come over one Sunday to join dinner! Later on in our relationship, I learned that Nemeth in Hungarian was like Smith in English, so there was zero relationship to Joe… but boy did she have me going. And that was Kathy… that was her funny, witty, sarcastic humor that I fell in love with the very first night that we met.

At this time I was living in White Plains and the last train was at 12:50 am. It was rolling around 12:30 and I told her I had to catch a train home but asked for her number so I could ask her out. She looked at me with this disapproving, quirky smile and said ‘You can’t leave now, it’s only 12:30… we’re still hanging out!’ I was of course thrilled to hear that she still wanted to hang out with me and so I responded to her ‘OK, I’m game to hang, but if I miss that train that means I need to take a car service home which ain’t cheap. So if I’m missing that train, then you need to guarantee another couple of hours of hanging out with me. Let’s call it a 2:30 minimum curfew?’ This was back in the day when we would close bars at 4:00 am, so 2:30 seemed like a reasonable ask. One of her friends was the designated driver for the crew for the night, and I will never forget this part of the night as long as I live. Kathy looked back at her friend, who I noticed had been listening to this whole part of the conversation. Kathy didn’t have to say a word… she just looked at her friend with a ‘you know you have to wait for me until 2:30, right?!’ type of glare. Her friend just sort of shrugged her shoulders and nodded, as she knew something special was happening and she had no choice in the matter. And so our night (into the morning) continued as we talked, laughed, drank and learned a bit about each other… and it was a truly magical experience.

As 2:30 was starting to get close, I asked her for her number so we could go out sometime. Typically I would be a little apprehensive when doing so, but everything felt so right I didn’t have a second thought about asking. Kathy looked me dead in the eyes and said, ‘Let’s just make a date now, how about this Saturday night?” Without hesitation, I said yes… as I couldn’t believe this stunning, hysterical and charming woman wanted to see me again! I must have really been on my A game that night 😊 So Saturday came, 2 days after the night we met, and I was so excited for our date. We were going to Canyon Road on the Upper East side, and some friends were over at Mo’s Caribbean watching the Knick game that evening. I decided to pop in and grab a beer before meeting her. I was so nervous and was also thinking that if she thought I was funny and charming from our first encounter, I may need to get just a little loose for a repeat performance. For those who remember the dating scene, sometimes things are not always what they seem at 2:30 am on a Thursday night. So I had a couple of beers and left Mo’s and walked into Canyon Road and saw her sitting at the table… and my jaw dropped. She was even more beautiful and breathtaking than the night we met. I knew that that night… and really at that instant… that I had met the love of my life, my soulmate… my wife. And as they say, the rest is history.