Katie Johnson was a bright, beautiful, and wonderful little girl, who came into this world on May 13th, 1998. She loved ladybugs, kittens, and all things pink. Katie loved movies (especially Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Smallville, & Star Wars), she was silly, precocious, and had a definite flair for drama. She was very independent, and standing barely three feet tall, she was a force of nature.

 

Her father, Albin, is the founder of the 501st Legion, an international Star Wars costuming club that performs charity work around the world. Growing up, Katie was accustomed to the dozens of Imperial Stormtroopers or the occasional Darth Vader stopping by to speak to her Dad. She met many of the actors from the films and charmed them all with her sharp wit and beautiful smile. Star Wars was as much a loved part of her life as it was her Dad's.

 

 

 

 

In 2004, Katie was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. There was an immediate outpouring of support and love from the entire Star Wars community. Letters of hope, gifts, and donations came from all corners of the globe.

 

Katie's treatment immediately took a toll on her poor little body. But her spirit was strong. She eventually came to terms with the weight gain and hair loss, and loved to look pretty for church. One day, Albin noticed something funny about the sanctuary's windows. Call it a sign, call it Al not paying attention in church, but the window looked eerily like an R2 unit and it gave him an idea: why not build an R2 to watch over Katie as she slept (just like R2-D2 watched over Padme in Episode II)? Katie's older sister Allie went one step further: why not paint it pink and name it after Katie: R2-KT? And a mission was born...

 

 

 

 

 

In April, 2005 Albin discovered the R2 Builders Group, another Star Wars fan club. Word quickly got out that Albin and Katie's sister, Allie, wanted to build a pink R2 droid and name it R2-KT in honor of Katie. In no time at all the entire R2 Builder's Group pulled together to help Albin meet this goal. A member named Jerry Greene put out the call for donated parts and graciously volunteered to engineer the project, knowing Albin's novice skills as a builder would put the project too far out of reach of his goal.

 

 

 

 

 

Knowing time was short, one of the members of the group, Andy Schwartz, generously shipped his R2 unit down to Katie's home, complete with a pink makeover. This way Katie would be guaranteed a droid while she was still able to enjoy it. And enjoy it she did, hugging it at first sight and lovingly sleeping with it in her room every night as it watched over her.

 

Through the generosity of the Make-A-Wish Foundation Katie was granted a special wish: visiting Walt Disney World. She was also made an honorary orphan in a stage production of "Annie" and got to fulfill another one of her dreams, to work as a veterinarian for a day and take care of the kittens and puppies she so dearly loved.

 

On August 9, 2005: Katie Johnson finally ended her battle with cancer, passing peacefully in her sleep. An outpouring of grief overwhelmed the entire Star Wars community, including George Lucas himself. In the short time she was with us, she touched more lives than most people do in a regular lifetime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On May 25th 2007, exactly thirty years to the day since Star Wars was first released in theaters, Hasbro made the announcement of a collaboration with Lucasfilm, and debuted the upcoming R2-KT figure, created in honor of Katie Johnson. This figure was available at San Diego Comic-Con, through HasbroToyShop.com, and StarWarsShop.com. Hasbro and Lucasfilm made a $100,000 donation in Katie Johnson's memory to the Make-a-Wish foundations of San Diego and South Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Katie's passing was felt all the way to George Lucas's own Skywalker Ranch. The recent animated motion picture, 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' features a new character that can be seen standing next to the familiar blue droid we all know as R2-D2. R2-KT made her motion picture debut and immortalized Katie's memory as a permanent part of the Star Wars mythos.

 

 

 

Katie lives on in our hearts and inspires us to be better people. She is so dearly missed, but her memory continues to inspire us all. It's in her memory that we have dedicated ourselves to raising money for other children like her, so that they may have some of their wishes granted.

 

 

 

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love. ~ Mother Teresa