Kaitlyn Suzanne Reynolds

Kaitlyn Suzanne Reynolds, 31, passed away Thursday, May 4, 2023, at Lakeland Regional Medical Health Center. Katie was a lifelong resident of Lakeland.

Miss Reynolds was born October 18, 1991, to Alan and Susan Reynolds. She was a 2-D Art Teacher for the Polk County School Board since March 2015 working at McLaughlin Middle School & Fine Arts Academy in Lake Wales and Union Academy Middle Magnet School in Bartow. She attended Harrison School of the Arts, graduating in 2010. One of her digital art pieces was selected and on permanent display at the school.

Kaitlyn was an Illustration Major at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia, PA. She was a recipient of a Visionary Honors Scholarship and had the honor of delivering the student message at the 2013 Visionary Women’s Award Ceremony. She graduated with a BFA in May of 2015.

Miss Reynolds kept busy throughout her life working and volunteering. During her high school years, she assisted with childcare at Oasis Community Church, worked as an Instructor’s Assistant at Prodigy Lakeland, and volunteered onstage and off at Lakeland Community Theatre. While attending Moore she worked at the MCAD Continuing Education Office, was a Resident Assistant and a Resident Director, and volunteered at The Academy of Natural Sciences where she was tasked with feeding the poisonous dart frogs.

Returning to Lakeland after graduation, she was determined to share her love of art. She was a familiar face at Art Crawls, Comic Cons, and other art shows. She spent several summers working as an Art Instructor at various summer camp programs including the Polk Museum of Art and Lakeland Community Theatre. Whether at school or camp, Kaitlyn loved her students fiercely and took great joy in their accomplishments.

Throughout her life she spent many hours at Lakeland Community Theatre where her father Alan is currently the Artistic Managing Director. She performed in many shows through the years including Sponge Bob the Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, Disenchanted, Beauty and the Beast, and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. One of LCT’s most revered stage managers, Kaitlyn was feisty, funny, opinionated, and talented. Actors and technicians simultaneously loved and feared her. They knew you should never miss a cue because you were on your phone or playing a game in the spotlight booth. And you had better not let her find out you left the theater mid-show to grab McDonalds. Her wrath was usually wielded quickly, firmly, and with a keen sense of humor. Despite her high expectations, she was sensitive to the learning curve of those new to theatre. For both young and old, Kaitlyn was a sweet and loving force that happily welcomed others into the LCT family. The capacity to love others was the most endearing element of Kaitlyn’s character. She was always ready to let you know she cared, tell you the hard truth, or create an art piece just to say, “I Love You.”

Kaitlyn loved watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes, listening to Kelly Clarkson, finding the perfect moments to quote her favorite movies, reading the Witcher books, Meg Cabot books, children’s books, other books, and more books. She loved collecting Loungefly Disney backpacks, going places with friends, spending Torrid cash, getting Taco Bell breakfast with Daddy, Disney cruising, cats, cat videos, more cats, and kittens. She was kind to dogs. Her kindness toward dogs stemmed from her understanding that it was not their fault they were not cats.

Many will remember her kindness, empathy, and mischievous spirit. Her brothers were often the target of her playful pranking. Every family vacation her brothers were prepared for what they would describe as the “Kaitlyn’s second night” antics. It was tradition that on the second night of any vacation Kaitlyn would perform some annoying act that would keep them awake until the wee hours of the morning. It could be anything from softly singing an adlibbed song just as the room was getting quiet, repeatedly calling them to “guess what” until they played along, or just her uncontrollable giggling. Her brothers loved annoying her, being annoyed by her, and laughing with her.

Katie believed in God, Angels, and Heaven. And she refused to call the last couple of years a battle. She was too busy living. Some highlights of this time were watching her oldest brother marry her best friend and “sister” Kelsey, sailing on the Disney Magic to see her baby brother, making one last appearance on the LCT stage, cheering on some of her besties as they landed their dream jobs, creating a few inspiring art pieces, introducing her grandmother to Bridgerton, and finding out that she would finally be an auntie.

Kaitlyn Reynolds is survived by her parents Alan and Susan Reynolds, grandmothers Patricia Reynolds and Sandra Backman, brothers Grant (Kelsey) Reynolds and Alex Reynolds, aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family, all of Lakeland.

She was preceded in death by her papa Paul Manual Reynolds, Sr. and uncle Paul Manual Reynolds, Jr.

In addition to her family, Kaitlyn leaves behind many loving friends, coworkers, mentors, former students, and her furbabies Louie and Winston. If Kaitlyn loved you, she declared you an honorary member of her family. There were many of you, and the family is thankful for your love and support.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 7:00 PM on Tuesday June 27, 2023, at the Lake Mirror Center.

The family extends sincere gratitude and love to Dr. Galina Vugman and her colleagues at Watson Clinic Cancer & Research Center in Lakeland, as well as the many nurses in the oncology ward of LRMHC. We believe in angels because we have seen them with our own eyes.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you contribute to her happy place, the Lakeland Community Theatre, where there are plans to create a youth scholarship in her honor.

“So let’s climb every tree

And drink imaginary tea

And speak a language only we can understand

And I will fight back the tears

As we fly through the years

And I’ll keep you as close as I can.”

From Imaginary Tea by Jon Mclaughlin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKEW-8X45Dk