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Community Corner

Friends Remember Katie Gillihan

A bandmate and a pal from high school remember the good times.

Friends described Katie Gillihan as dynamic, charismatic and multi-talented.  Sophie Halton, who knew Gillihan during her Benicia High School years said, “She was just a ray of sunshine.”

Another friend, Marty Procaccio, with whom Gillihan was close until , met her through a mutual friend and then started reading her blog. “Her writing was just impeccable,” Procaccio said. “She was the kind of person who would write these very long blog entries that for some reason you just kept on reading.”

Halton also remembers Gillihan as a prolific writer. They met while in line for a Rasputina concert. “She was hilarious, and she was also absolutely a genius and an amazing writer,” Halton said. 

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They both wrote and commented on each other’s blogs. “It was a beautiful way for a friendship to start: two writers, two readers,” Halton said.

Gillihan’s blog has more than 1,900 entries.  Some are reflections, some are poetry and some are rants. 

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Gillihan, who was 26, outwardly expressed herself with her clothes and most notably with her hair, which ranged from platinum blonde to fuchsia to mermaid green. “Her hair was like cotton candy,” Halton said. “It was always so beautiful. Her favorite color combo was what (Gillihan) called mermaid colors, purple, blue and green. She had so much fun with that. We called her chameleon.”

Gillihan also was a talented singer. “She had just an incredible voice,” Procaccio said.  “It was sad and bittersweet, but it was also powerful.” They played together in the band Left on Calliope starting around 2004. 

“I won’t lie,” Procaccio said. “The biggest reason I joined the band was to get closer to her.” The band only lasted a couple of years but they managed to play a number of gigs  throughout the Bay Area.

Most notable to her friends was her love of inside jokes.  “It was all about the inside joke,” Procaccio said.  “She would just get an inside joke going with you and not stop.”

Procaccio was in contact with Gillihan up until the week of her death. They had plans to see each other Tuesday last week but had rescheduled to Friday, the day her body was found in her east Benicia townhouse.  Her boyfriend, Adam Wade Disa, was the same night and has been charged with murder.

“It was such a tragedy,” Procaccio said. “She was an old soul. … She was so wonderful. I always loved her and I always will.”

A for Katie Gillihan is planned for 2:30 p.m. Friday at the in Benicia. Katie's mother has asked that in lieu of flowers, people make donations in Katie's name to the American Cancer Society.

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