Carey Behel and Richard Ach. Carey and Richard are Katie’s aunt and uncle. Carey has two children (Jaime Chandler and Andrew Chandler) and Richard has one (Sam Ach) who Katie considers her siblings. Carey is Katie’s mom’s sister and was Katie’s legal guardian after her mom died in 1993. Carey and Katie share a love of art and all things cosmic. Rick introduced Katie to the beauty of the Southwest and instilled in her a deep love of the outdoors. They are known affectionately by Fenna as Titi and Rico.
Brian and Anne Adams. Brian and Anne are Graham’s parents. They have two other children, Sean (older), and Nina (younger), a horse named Sunny, and two adorable dogs (Sadie and Brinkley). Graham inherited his mother’s wit and his father’s calm. They are known affectionately by Fenna as Grandma and Pop.
Shawn and Rebecca Small. Shawn was Graham’s roommate freshman year of college and they became fast friends. They got into a lot of mischief together before Shawn moved to Portland to start a carbon fiber repair business. Graham moved from Milwaukee to Portland to work with Shawn and help build Ruckus in 2010. Rebecca and Shawn met the same year as Graham and Katie and were married a few years ago. We like Rebecca - she’s warm, generous, one of a kind, knows a lot about rocks, city planning, and is someone who looks great dressed as a hotdog.
Audrey Dey: Katie and Graham met Audrey at Fenna’s school in 2018. During quarantine Audrey became part of the family when Katie, Graham, Fenna and the Bump Family built a pod together and Audrey cared for the kids. Once the kids returned to school, Audrey began working in a COVID recovery hospital in Portland and is now nursing full time. Audrey can fix her own appliances, loves the beach, to eat cake, and has excellent handwriting!
Tyler, Vanessa, Milo, and Nora Bump. Vanessa and Tyler have two children, Milo (4) and Nora (18 months). The Bump family formed a pod with Katie, Graham, Fenna, and Audrey during the quarantine. Graham has known Tyler through biking and Vanessa through dance contacts since he moved to Portland. Katie was pregnant with Fenna when Vanessa and Tyler got married. They found out weeks later that Vanessa was pregnant too! Little did anyone know that Milo and Fenna would be best friends and that our two families would lean so heavily on each other in the years to come. Tyler is a consultant and economist and Vanessa a social impact goddess for a large company.
Jaime Chandler and Daniel Todd: Jaime is Katie’s older cousin (Carey’s daughter). Jaime and Katie have always been close and connected, often even in matching outfits. Daniel is Jaime’s awesome partner. He’s from Kentucky and you’ll know it. Jaime is a massage therapist and yoga instructor. Daniel is a caregiver to the elderly and special needs community, and a soon to be masseuse. They both live in Payson, Arizona where they hike, dance, teach, cook, build, make art, care for others, each other, and generally live a dreamy life. Katie and Graham often turn to them for spiritual direction, laughs, cocktails, and new music.
Brianna Cross. Brianna is one of Katie’s best friends, but also part of Katie and Graham’s extended family. Katie met Brianna in art school a lifetime ago. Katie and Brianna like to be extravagant together and they are great collaborators. Brianna designed Katie and Graham’s garden and is an expert on plant life. In addition to landscape design, Brianna is an avid reader, seamstress, an excellent chef, and knower of all things. Brianna is a regular at Behel family events and has hosted basically every major event in Katie’s life. When Katie introduced Brianna to Graham they instantly got along. Brianna has always been a supporter of Graham and Katie’s relationship and a neutral in challenging times. Brianna is going to officiate Graham and Katie’s wedding ceremony.
Lucy Lyon. Lucy and Katie have been kindred spirits, bosom buddies, and best friends since they met in Prescott, AZ in the first grade. In fact, Lucy and Katie have kept in touch long distance since they were 14 (28 years!). Katie and Lucy have been on many adventures together and never seem to lose their cool when things go wrong. It’s amazing they’re still friends. Lucy is a speech pathologist, mother, seamstress, baker, and ice skater,. She’s the best and we are sad Pepin (daughter) and Tim (husband) couldn’t make it.
Cameron Brooks, Jessie Conover, Leo Brooks - The west can be a lonely place, and for 6ish years it was a little less lonely. Graham had family in town with Cameron and Jessie! If Jessie wouldn’t have courted Katie in grad school at the U of O who knows where we would be now. Jessie and Cameron now live in New Hampshire with their 2-year-old son, Leo. If you have any questions about marine life, electricity, or the criminal justice system this is the crew to ask!
Sam and Paige Pepperwood - Sam and Graham met through bike stuff in Portland and quickly became besties bonding over all of the things they had in common. Before meeting Katie, Graham spent most of his time at the Pepperwood’s house. Graham and Paige quickly became sisterwives often falling asleep on the same couch for the night. Sam is an engineer and Paige an elementary school psychologist. They have two adorable (well one is kind of funny looking) pups and are the best people to watch garbage TV with.
Nina Hurley - Nina is Graham’s little sister. She really adores Graham. Nina followed Graham like a puppy to the same college in Milwaukee where they hung out all of the time, and even lived together for a little bit. Graham and Nina look a lot alike and are basically best buds. Nina is Currently living in Bethesda, Maryland where she is an 8th grade science teacher. We are sad her husband Caleb and son Miles couldn’t be here too. She is affectionately known to Fenna as “Nini.”
Sean Adams - Sean is Graham‘s older brother. Growing up, Sean was always there to get in trouble so Graham didn’t have to. These days Graham and Sean stay close (and sane in pandemic life) playing Dungeons and Dragons with each other. Sean is a beer aficionado (seriously, he knows a lot!) and has an excel spreadsheet for a brain (trivia anyone?). Sean is currently living in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife Vanessa, and his two children Esme and Sebastian. We are missing them and so sad they couldn’t be here.
Andrew Chandler - Andrew is Katie‘s younger cousin (Carey’s son). Andrew is the only person in Katie’s family that’s taller than she is. Andrew and Katie share an appreciation for art and the outdoors and can really get each other laughing. Andrew is currently living in Carbondale, Colorado. He is a maker, a craftsman, an artist, a caver, a climber, and much more. If you have a chance to sing Karaoke with him, do it. He lives with his partner, Megan, who is a writer and a dancer (and is unfortunately not her because she is organizing a large dance festival in Carbondale this weekend.)
Rani Boyle - Rani and Katie became friends about ten years ago through a mutual friend. Their dogs, Olive and Lola, were a hilarious duo. Katie and Rani loved to watch Downton Abbey together. Rani and Lola moved into Katie’s Mississippi house while Katie was in grad school, even caring for Olive while Katie completed her internship in Palestine. After that trip Rani was an incredible support during a really difficult time. Her laughter was and is medicine (best laugh ever), and the structure she created in the house kept Katie going (Rani is a very responsible person so don’t even try to recycle paper with food on it.) She knows a little something about everything and secretly texts memes to Graham she knows Katie won’t get. Rani works for the City of Portland when she’s not floating around in her kayak across the Northwest.
Alex and Leah Zani - Leah is Katie’s younger half sister. They have the same dad, who unfortunately had to cancel coming to Santa Fe due to increasing health issues. Leah and Katie didn’t get to spend a lot of time together growing up but are loving building their adult relationship from the ground up. Leah runs her own Millinery business called, Atelier Zani, which she maintains while writing ethnographic texts related to her time living in Laos. Leah is a doctor of Anthropology, a poet, and an excellent listener. Alex, Leah’s husband, works for Google and does all kinds of amazing things, but what he’s really known for is his love of Croissant. Alex is from France and will not disappoint in his knowledge on baking! But let’s face it, he won’t disappoint in knowledge about anything!
Sam Ach and Christina Carter -Sam is technically Katie’s step-cousin (Richard’s son) but is mostly Katie’s younger brother. Katie thinks of Sam coloring anime and performing martial arts in the living room, but now Sam is married, an accomplished industrial designer, and a cherished uncle. Sam and Katie have stayed close over the years. Sam and Christina are Graham and Katie’s only family in Portland and they feel so lucky to have them! Cristina is a cardiac nurse at OHSU and the newest member of our family (just married last October). Sam and Graham stay connected, playing games each week. Fenna loves her aunt and uncle and beams when we get to see them. They are affectionately known to Fenna as tika and uncle sam.