Caitie Homan's Legacy, Research Efforts to Continue Through Scholarships

As they prepare for her funeral this week, Mark and Lynn Homan said they've taken some comfort in the fact that their daughter's legacy will continue through scholarships, in knowing six medical patients have benefitted from her organs and in the overwhelming support shown by friends, family and colleagues in Canton, the UK and elsewhere. 

Caitlin Sarah Homan, 24, tragically died on May 16, the day after after she was hit by a car near Winchester, UK. 

At the time Homan was pursuing a PhD in deception and canine behavior from the University of Portsmouth in Hampshire, UK. She was walking her beloved adoptee Hexe, a Doberman blend from Romania, who also later died.

Caitie, a 2006 graduate of Canton High School, spent her whole life surrounded by animals and much of the past several years studying them. 

"It was a life-long thing for her," said her mother Lynn Homan. "There wasn't an animal she didn't like." 

With the establishment of two scholarships, that legacy will continue. 

The University of Portsmouth plans to establish a scholarship to facilitate the continuation her research, the Homans said.

"It was nice to hear they were impressed with her work and her ideas," Mark Homan said. 

In the Spring of 2014, a graduating Canton High School senior will also be the first recipient of the Caitie Homan Memorial Scholarship. 

While details are still being worked out and they don't want the award to be too restrictive, the Homans said their ultimate goal is to offer a significant amount to help student pursuing a similar field of study. 

Lynn loved to have pets and as Caitie grew up she soon surrounded herself with creatures big and small. 

Caitie went on to study wildlife ecology and psychology at the University of Maine and interned or worked at several locations, including The Lemur Conservation Foundation in Florida and a raptor center in Maine. She even became a hunter and saw it as a way to help manage wildlife populations. 

For the last nine months she was in the UK, at the University of Portsmouth working on PhD studying if dogs can detect deception in humans. 

"At some point she got into animal behavior," Mark Homan. "She was very intrigued by deception." 

Her work with animals may be her legacy but there were many sides to Caitie. She was a photographer, loved to fish, participated in choirs, musicals and the cross country team at Canton High. During her first year in Maine she learned to love hockey and became an avid Boston Bruins fan. 

Notable in Caitie was her love of laughter and a sense of humor, which could be a little sarcastic. 

"She really was upbeat, enjoyed life and laughed a lot," said Mark Homan. 

One such moment captured beautifully on film will be on display at her calling hours on June 7. 

While Caitie could be quiet around strangers, it didn't take her long to be warm up to people. As she grew up, every September many teachers expressed concern about her participation, her father said. By October, they said "never mind." 

"Once she felt comfortable you couldn't get her to stop talking," Mark Homan said. 

Through community involvement, their time at St. Patrick and Caitie's school friends, the Homan family has been involved in many aspects of town. 

Since their daughter's death, the support from so many in town and Mark's workplace has been overwhelming.  

They also received much from their daughter's friends and colleagues in the UK.

"I think we've both been grateful for the support," Lynn Homan said. "I don't think we ever would have made it without everyone pulling together to help us." 

The family is also grateful for a letter they received from a UK hospital noting that their daughter's organs helped six different patients of all ages.

Mark Homan said he knows they've kept busy and the time after the funeral may be the hardest. He also said there's days when he wants to just curl up in a corner but knows his daughter wouldn't want that. 

"I get the sense of Caitie with me, kicking me, saying come on," he said. 

He also said it there was only a brief period - of just seconds - when he found himself wishing she never went to the UK. But the accident could have happened anywhere and he doesn't feel the evidence so far shows the young driver who hit his daughter did anything more than make a mistake.

His daughter was doing what she loved and had gone to the UK specificially to study with a noted expert in her field. 

"This is where she wanted to be," he said. 

Calling hours for Caitie will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, June 7 at Vincent Funeral Home with a funeral mass of Christian burial the next day at St. Patrick. That service will include remarks from Father Ron May, who spent many years at St. Patrick and knew Caitie. 

Donations can be made to: 
Caitie Homan Memorial Scholarship Fund,
c/o Canton High School,
76 Simonds Ave., Canton, CT 06019

or

the Lemur Conservation Foundation (www.lemurreserve.org), PO Box 249, Myakka City, FL 34251.

For more or to sign a "Book of Memories" visit www.vincentfuneralhome.com