Submit a PhotoKathryn Mary (Lenzen) Labbe, 70, passed away peacefully and painlessly on May 21, 2025, in Mesa, Ariz. Husband Carl, daughter Gina, son Douglas and his wife, Jamie, were at her side. Her nearly four-year battle with uterine cancer is over.
Kathy was a strong, determined woman. She fearlessly forged a great life with a loving family, a rewarding pharmacy career, and selfless community service.
She was born March 16, 1955, in Sidney, Neb., the fifth of Jerome and Marian Lenzen’s seven children. Jerome was a farmer, and Marian was a writer. Their four boys came first, then three girls followed. Kathy was the oldest girl.
She loved growing up on the farm with all those siblings and had fond memories of horseback riding, hiking through the pastures, and attending the one-room country school about a mile down the road. There were just two students in her class from first through sixth grade.
Kathy went from one classmate at the country school to more than 100 at the junior high in Sidney. She worked part time at the local bookstore and graduated from Sidney High School in 1973. Academically she excelled in math and the sciences, and those interests led her to pursue a pharmacy degree, with coursework starting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and finishing at the Medical Center in Omaha.
After graduation in 1978, Kathy was determined to escape the cold winters of Nebraska, so she packed up her VW Beetle and boldly moved to Arizona, where she didn’t know a single person. Her early career found her working for a well-known independent, Lahr’s Pharmacy in Phoenix. She eventually transitioned to Smitty’s, which was renamed Smith’s, Fred Meyer, and Fry’s as corporate ownership changed.
Throughout the years, Kathy was always highly patient-focused, and she was recognized in 2001 as Pharmacy Times magazine’s Pharmacist of the Year for her fierce, unyielding patient advocacy. In 2013, Kathy was awarded the Bowl of Hygeia, one of the profession’s most prestigious awards, recognizing pharmacists for outstanding community service.
In Kathy’s case, she was a tireless fundraiser for breast cancer research. For many years, she participated in Susan G. Komen 3-Day walks around the country. She evolved into a team leader, and she more recently walked for the Pledge the Pink Foundation as well. She endured miles of scorching heat, drenching rain, blistered feet, aching bones, and an exhausted body, but never did her spirit waver. This was a lady of diamonds and steel. If you walked in her shoes, or stood by her side, you knew that she was a very special pharmacist, wife, mother, and friend.
Kathy retired in 2019, but there was no slowing down. She learned genealogy, tracing her family tree and discovering her roots along with many wonderful stories. She delved even deeper into one of her favorite projects: photographing headstones and documenting the exact GPS locations of thousands of graves for the Find a Grave website, helping families rediscover lost and forgotten loved ones. She was most proud of documenting approximately 8,000 graves in her hometown Greenwood Cemetery in Sidney.
Throughout her cancer journey, Kathy made fleece throw blankets, an activity she could manage even when she wasn’t feeling well. In all, she crafted about 150 throws, spreading warmth from Arizona to Maine.
Kathy’s perseverance and strength during her final years cemented her Wonder Woman status with family and friends. She chronicled the ups and downs of her treatments on a CaringBridge page with openness and humor. Her courage was inspiring.
She was supported in all of her endeavors by husband Carl, a fellow pharmacist whom she met shortly after moving to Phoenix. In later years, Carl played a key role in supporting Kathy’s team during her fundraising walks. He was also her rock during her roller-coaster cancer odyssey.
Throughout her life, Kathy was proud of her heritage and always demonstrated her strong pioneer spirit. The Labbes loved making jams and salsa together as a family. They made many trips to the family homestead in Sidney, and they loved to travel, always trying new foods and adventures. She lived life in full and leaves a legacy of lives improved, as well as her beautiful children and grandchildren.
Kathy is survived by husband Carl, daughter Gina, son Douglas, daughter-in-law Jamie, and two grandsons. She is also survived by brothers Jerome N. Lenzen Jr. (wife Kathleen), Robert Lenzen, and Stephen Lenzen (wife Karen); sisters Amy Burt (husband Randy) and Patricia Hammond (husband Kevin); and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.
She was preceded in death by parents Jerome and Marian Lenzen, brother Matthew Lenzen, and sister-in-law Terri Lenzen.
A celebration of Kathy’s life will be held at Gilbert Memorial Park Cemetery, 2100 E. Queen Creek Road, Gilbert, Ariz., on June 28 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Epilepsy Foundation.
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Well said I love you sis, leave room for me if there is a room.
I started writing this as a way to grieve. I kept adding to it everytime a new memory came up.
Kathy Labbe, AKA mom #2, AKA phar-mama, was exactly that. She was a second mom to me who helped me become the adult I am today. Without her mentoring, I don’t know who or where I would be in life.
I met Kathy by chance; as a young 19 or 20 year old, completely naive to the pharmacy world. I was working in the deli at a Fry’s grocery store and wanted out. I was offered a position in the pharmacy at a different store and a .25 cent raise. Winning! I thought. I still get to close at 9pm, get a raise and I won’t smell like fried chicken anymore after I get off work. Little did I know, how much of a winning situation I just stumbled upon. From that first day, even though I went home in tears, I knew this job was something I’d like. The frys pharmacy at McClintock and Baseline quickly became a home away from home and Kathy quickly became a friend, a mentor, and a second mom.. We typically worked Sundays together and those are days I will always think of fondly. Sometimes we would go out for breakfast first with Carl and Gina, and grab a caramel Frappuccino before heading off to work. It would be just Kathy and I and she’d tell me about her stories growing up in Nebraska and the early days when she met Carl. She’d teach me about pharmacy, about managing, about having compassion. We’d grab lunch from the deli, usually a lemon pepper chicken and jalapeño havarti cheese sandwich. Or sometimes I’d run out and get us el pollo loco or even grab a fish sandwich from McDonald’s. I learned so much from Kathy. She was a woman that everyone respected and if someone didn’t, they’d hear about it. From people being on their cellphones at the pharmacy to people arguing about how early they could refill a med, Kathy stood her ground and showed me how to be a strong woman and not let people intimidate me. She also taught me that being organized is key. Labeling, sorting, cleaning was part of my Sunday tasks and has come to be part of my daily life as well. I remember when a new ADHD med came out Vyvanse, I was in charge of labeling new shelves for all the different strengths. Well instead of typing Vyvanse, I typed Vynase on all the labels. When the meds came in and we noticed the mistake, we both laughed and made some sort of ironic joke like I was probably not paying attention to what I was doing. Every time I see the med Vyvanse I think of that time and smile. She taught me a lot about compassion and being a pharmacist. So many patients would come to the pharmacy to talk with her, Kathy would know them by name of course, and would share their struggles and victories of life and Kathy would listen, cry, laugh, celebrate and help them in the best way she could. She built relationships with her customers in a way that they had so much trust in her. I knew that was something I wanted and would strive for when I became a pharmacist, and I’d like to think I succeeded in that. Some of my most fond memories were of her selling her jam and salsa at the pharmacy, raising money for breast cancer, going out to “drug dinners” and eating yummy food while being taught about the newest vaccine or medication, all while sipping on a lemon drop martini. Man what I would give to go to another “drug dinner” with her.
Being a 20 year old, I had a lot to learn. I was going to school to become a teacher at the time, but after seeing the type of career Kathy had, I changed my path to pharmacy. She helped guide me, wrote recommendation letters for me and was a cheerleader for me the whole time. Once I got accepted into pharmacy school, I was fortunate enough to remain working with Kathy as an intern. She continued to teach me things one could never learn at school. I learned the real world ins and outs of being a retail pharmacist and I was so excited to start my career. I graduated in 2011. Of course her and Carl were there cheering me and a few other classmates on. I was fortunate that Carl needed a full time staff pharmacist when I graduated and got to transfer to his store once I passed my exams. Working alongside Carl was equally inspiring.
Side note. Working with Carl and Kathy is very different. While they both are extremely knowledgeable, amazing, caring pharmacists, their work environments are completely different. Kathy insisted on everything being quiet. She even bought new keyboards for the pharmacy because the ones that the company provided were too loud. I can hear her now “the click clack drives me crazy”. She kept a very organized, quiet pharmacy. Working with Carl was a little more relaxed. Music was on all the time of every genre. Carl has the most eclectic collection ever. Things were still very organized, but not to the level that Kathy would require.
When I left Frys to go to a clinical pharmacist job, I don’t think anyone was as excited for me as Kathy was. She was so happy I was getting out of retail and going to be using my clinical experience I gained on a daily basis. She was always a cheerleader.
Through the years, Her and Carl were always there for me and became family. The first time I was invited to her and Carls house I fell in love with their dachshund Ginger; so much, that I now own a dachshund of my own. One of my favorite memories was going down to Tucson with Kathy and Carl to participate in a pharmacy convention. Kathy and I spent a day at the spa and got manicures and pedicures. They had this amazing neck wrap that they put on you during your treatments that smelled like pumpkin pie. I liked it so much. Later that year Kathy got me one as a present. Oddly enough it’s made by a brand name Tara. I still have and use that neck wrap all the time. She even once drove to Glendale after a shift that I had called out for because I wasn’t feeling well, just to bring me medicine and check in on me. I felt terrible when she showed up and I wasn’t ACTUALLY sick, just had a long night prior. Sorry Kathy! They were there celebrating with me at my wedding, visited me when my children were born and supported me through my divorce with their kind words and love.
Kathy taught me so much through my adult life and I am so thankful I took that pharmacy job 20 ish years ago. I will always think of her when I see a Maxine comic or a flamingo, which became a symbol of hers supporting breast cancer. I was gifted her piano a couple years ago and play it often. My daughter is now taking piano lessons on it and I cherish the gift every day. I snuggle up in one of her blankets she made me and imagine her hugging me. I will always love miracle mile deli and will cheer on the cornhuskers for her.
Carl said it best when he wrote “another legend has passed”. She is truly a legend in my life. I will always be thankful for what Kathy did for me. I hope I have made her proud and aspire to be even half the pharmacist she was.