Obituary of Caydants Mae Featherling

"It's not the dates that matter, but how you spent that little dash in between" 

 

Caydants was born on March 8th, 2007 to Neil and Krista Featherling. She was the first of four kids born five years apart, an amazing big sister to Damen, Atlin and Bryah. They adored her and she loved watching over her siblings. 

 

She had an extremely close connection with her daddy from the very beginning. He was the only person that could soothe her as a colicky baby and he was the only person that could reason with her as a young adult. She looked up to him and learned everything she could from him. Like him, she could tackle mostly any job that came her way. She was also blessed with her dad's patience, most of the time anyways.

 

Caydants was born an extremely determined little girl and she always knew what she wanted. By 18 months old, she was dressing herself and putting on her own socks. As her siblings arrived, she felt it was her job to help with every task we'd let her. When she was 4 years old, we put her to bed one night and she came out of her room after a few minutes and excitedly exclaimed "I learned how to tie a bow!" She had been playing with the drawstrings on her PJ pants, and without any instruction from us, figured out how to tie a bow.

 

When she was 2 years and 15 days old, her brother was born. She was very confused about the fact that she was a girl but he was a boy and she was trying to understand the differences. Three days after her brother was born, Neil was taking her to town and she piped up from the back seat "When I grow up, I'm going to be a big boy, and when Damen grows up, he's going to be a big girl." Neil tried to explain to her that she'd be a big girl and Damen would be a big boy but she didn't want any part of what he was trying to tell her and she told her dad "don't talk to me if you're going to bullshit me". She carried this no bullshit attitude of hers right to the end.

 

She took pride in learning many different things and she was always looking to perfect her skills. She learned to sew, helped with canning, loved to cook, took her sisters to the mall or out for ice cream. She loved being outdoors or in the mountains and put up with me dragging her along hiking too. She helped her dad and brother with every job that came up from running the chainsaw, Cat or tractor, to plumbing, fixing the septic tank, welding, fabricating, designing projects, wood working, or just wrenching on anything she could. 

 

Our kids rarely experienced 'real' haircuts. Usually I'd do the haircutting but Neil liked to try fancier haircuts that I was scared to try, like mohawks for Damen. The girls started asking for bangs and haircuts that I was scared to try, so Caydants decided to educate herself on the subject and pretty soon all the girls had bangs, including Caydants. She became our chief stylist, giving Damen mullets, layering the girls' hair and fixing my own hair after I'd get sick of it long and hack it off.

 

She swam competitively and really enjoyed it, but she told me that swimming was just her weekday sport to keep her in shape for her weekend sport. Her passion was dirt biking. There were even a couple of men who refused to dirt bike with her because they got their butts kicked by a 12 year old girl. She loved technical rides that included climbing vertical rock walls, steep hills, rocks and logs. She designed and built the skid plates for both her 125 and her Sherco.

 

At 14, Caydants was gifted a 1993 F250 7.3L from some dear family friends. She cut the rust out of the fenders and fabricated new wheel wells that she welded back together. With the extra room, she could now fit 35s on it and her dad urged her to get the fanciest wheels, telling her we'd pay for half. She painted the truck and it looks sharp. We were all so proud of the work she put in, having it ready for her 16th birthday.

 

One day after work, Caydants almost lost her truck. She was walking over to her truck and she noticed wires hanging down underneath. She climbed under her truck and realized that the wires were hot. She quickly ran to the battery to unhook it and the wires had melted all the way back already. There had been a live wire in the box she didn't know about. She had thrown dirty coveralls in her box and then it started to rain. She always did hate electrical.

 

When Caydants started high school, she told her Granny "I'm going to make high school my bitch."

 

Caydants worked at Three Bars Ranch for a few summers, High R Expectations and most recently, at Fab-Rite. She was grateful for all of her experiences and the amazing people she met along the way. 

 

Caydants wanted to do engineering but at the last minute, decided to do the trades program at the college for her grade 12 year. She came to her dad and told him she wanted to do the heavy duty program and he told her absolutely not! He told her it's a dying industry, with everything switching to electric. She hated electrical. They agreed on her doing the millwright program so she could experience many trades and decide what to focus on after that. She learned that she loved machining.

 

In March she received her college certificate, months before actually graduating from grade 12 and getting her high school diploma.

While at the college, she reconnected with an amazing young man from her 4H days, Steve. Ironically he's doing his electrical apprenticeship. The two of them spent so much time together. He came into her life at a very difficult time and he was always there for her. We will forever be grateful to him, and his family.

 

In November 2024, Caydants lost her dad, her idol and mentor. 

 

Losing Caydants has left a huge hole in so many hearts, especially her siblings, who idolize her. We are blessed to have had 18 years of memories, mischief and adventures with her and her spunky personality. We will forever hear her giggle until she squeaks and hiccups in our memories.

 

Her family members are extensive and include many that are not necessarily blood relatives, but family just the same.

There will be a private graveside service with public celebration to follow. Please listen for more details