Celebration of Life

Rachel Stutt

Kristin Driscoll

Memoir of Kristin P. Driscoll
November 6, 1982 – October 26, 2021
Kristin P. Driscoll passed away peacefully in her home on Tuesday, October 26, 2021 surrounded by her loved ones. A beloved wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend, she exemplified how to live a life full of purpose and love. Her integrity, courage and devotion served as inspiration that will positively influence many lives for years to come.  Here is her incredible life story.
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Kristin was born November 6, 1982 in Tarzana, California to Michael and Lori Payne. Her childhood was filled with love for her parents, her sister, Taylor, brother, Brandon, and step-father, Ken. Kristin spent most of her childhood living in Palmdale, a small desert suburb in Southern California. Kristin would spend every waking moment outside riding her bike and roller blading with the other kids in the neighborhood. Kristin had many hobbies as a child including swimming and dance. She also spent many years as a girl scout where she was mentored by a group of amazing people who taught her important life lessons and skills that she carried into adulthood. Kristin loved spending time at her family's cabin in Big Bear where she would hike and play in the snow. But above all else, Kristin's favorite thing to do as a child was going to the beach and she would frequently convince her Dad to take her. Every summer the family vacationed in Newport Beach, which she looked forward to all year long. Kristin could spend all day swimming in the ocean and relaxing on the sand. Her love for the ocean was something she never outgrew and was a big contributor to her decision later in life to pursue a career in the U.S. Coast Guard.
Kristin attended Highland High School in Palmdale, CA, graduating in 2000. Her outgoing personality attracted many friends, of which she would still consider close today. She was an outstanding student and accomplished on the girls tennis team. Despite her high achievements, she also enjoyed the occasional opportunity to rebel. Fun Fact: Kristin was the school's mascot, often in costume as Belle or Buster Bulldog. During one competition, her Buster head fell off.
In 2001, Kristin enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard. Her first assignment was at the Pay and Personnel Center, Topeka, KS after she graduated from Yeoman, “A” school. She impressed everyone with her skillset and advanced quickly. She participated in numerous Color Guard events and funerals for local veterans. She also earned a B.A. cum laude in Business Administration from Baker University in 2005.
In 2006, she was commissioned at Officer Candidate School and assigned as a Deck Watch Officer on the Coast Guard Cutter JARVIS in Honolulu, Hawaii, where she conducted law enforcement and search and rescue operations in the South Pacific and Bering Seas.
PJ met Kristin in 2009 through mutual friends while stationed in San Diego. Kristin played hard to get and resisted PJ’s charm for as long as possible before allowing a date. They enjoyed movies, restaurants, and of course the beach. Kristin tried to domesticate PJ, and PJ introduced Kristin to the joy of long distance running. Fun fact: Kristin completed 13 half marathons in her life. Not bad for someone who despised running altogether. They grew to love San Diego and quickly realized they had found home. From Cowles mountain hikes, to weekends at the family cabin in Big Bear, Kristin and PJ were suited for all the outdoor activities that Southern California could offer.
Kristin and PJ shared their first place together while she served as the Future Operations Department Head at U.S. Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team (91109) San Diego, California where she coordinated multiple team deployments, including response to the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, a unit-wide security deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the first-ever deployment of a U. S. Coast Guard standard boat from a foreign naval vessel in support of counter-drug operations in the Caribbean. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Homeland Security Leadership from the University of Connecticut.
After careful thought and a gentle nudge from Kristin, PJ was ready to propose. PJ had fallen in love with the “Unconditional Surrender” statue, which is the replica of the original which departed in 2012. Patriotic in origin, this statue represents eternal love, a bond between two strangers, which withstands the test of time. So fittingly, PJ escorted his bride-to-be under the statue right at sunset and popped the big question. On August 21st, 2010, with over 100 family and friends in attendance, Kristin and PJ shared their vows. For better or worse, they were joined as husband and wife at Admiral Kidd Center at Naval Training Center, San Diego. They shared their first dance as husband and wife to Michael Bublé and a strawberry and vanilla buttercream wedding cake. Shortly after, the loving couple whisked away to Jamaica for their honeymoon. They dined on the beach, jet skied, and enjoyed the warm Caribbean waters. Fun fact: PJ nearly ruined the honeymoon by losing his wedding band. During their Dunn’s River Falls incursion, PJ infamously handed his poorly fitted ring to Kristin to hold, and he dropped it over the falls. After 30 minutes of frantic searching the ring was found!
Pregnant with their first child in 2011, Kristin and PJ drove across the country to New London, CT for their next big chapter. Kristin reported to the Leadership Development Center as an Officer Candidate School Instructor. She provided academic, operational and leadership instruction to over 1,000 U.S Coast Guard and National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Officers.
Averie Lauren was born on leap day, February 29th, 2012. Kristin loved being at home with her newborn and would often just stare at Averie and say, “she’s just so perfect.” Averie was one of three leap day babies born at the hospital that day.
On May 7, 2013, Cameron Noelle joined their family. Kristin was overjoyed by her two beautiful daughters. The Driscoll Family loved their 3 years on the east coast spending time with friends, participating in events at the Coast Guard Academy, day trips exploring and enjoying the New England seasons with autumn leaves and the occasional snowstorm.
In 2014, Kristin and PJ moved back to San Diego. She served as Chief of the Incident Management Division for the San Diego region directing all-hazards and Marine Environmental Response operations and PJ started working for Illumina. Averie and Cameron loved the warm sun, close beaches, and all the local activities available. They discovered Sea World, LegoLand, the zoo, and many more hot spots. Kristin and PJ enjoyed watching the girls grow up in such a wonderful place, full of excitement and fun. PJ did his best in a house with three women! The Driscoll family enjoyed their favorite holidays Halloween, Christmas, 4th of July, and of course the most holy of days, St. Patrick’s Day. Kristin always had the kids dressed in green and encouraged them to be little leprechauns.
In 2016, the family moved to San Ramon for her assignment at the Eleventh District Response Advisory Team providing response management and policy advice for senior leaders. This would be their first time stationed in the Bay Area and proved to be a memorable tour.
On September 19th, 2016, they welcomed Nolan Patrick Driscoll into the family. Kristin had promised this was the last baby and assured the family Nolan was the missing piece. Now as a family of five, they would enjoy all that northern California had to offer. The family explored the vineyards, Lake Tahoe with friends, and even took the kids to Hawaii for the first time. Fun fact: the family took a military hop on an Air Force KC-135 to Hawaii. The kids thought it was the coolest flight ever, as they got to run around the cargo hold for 6 hours. 2016 was filled with travel and fun. The kids would start a new school, PJ would join a new biotech job, and Kristin, as always, was excelling at work. She did not know at the time, but this group of coworkers would go on to make significant impacts both personally and professionally.
In September 2017, Kristin was chosen to screen for a special assignment as the Coast Guard Military Aide to the President of the United States and interviewed at the White House. Impressed by her professionalism, wit, and dedication, she made it to the final two candidates. Although they picked “the other guy”, she was equally competitive.
Immediately from the white house, she deployed to Puerto Rico and then the U.S. Virgin Islands to serve as Deputy Incident Commander amid the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Leaving her husband, two young daughters, and her baby boy just before his first birthday, she established an Incident Command Post and directed relief efforts for a major natural disaster. During this deployment, she unknowingly suffered a seizure that broke a bone in her vertebrae. At the time, she assumed her pain to be overexertion and pressed on; her devotion to duty was unwavering.
A few weeks into the deployment, Kristin received a request to return to the White House to interview for Military Aide to the Vice President. Her husband overnighted her formal uniform back to Washington D.C. and again, despite little time to prepare, she was in the final candidate pool, impressively representing the U.S. Coast Guard.
Less than a week after her return home from deployment and two rounds of White House interviews, Kristin suffered a grand mal seizure. She was diagnosed at the hospital with a brain tumor the size of a golf ball in her left temporal lobe.
Kristin underwent brain surgery on November 13, 2017, one week after her 35th birthday, at Stanford Medical Center. They were able to remove 97% of the tumor, but the remaining 3% was rooted too deeply to reach. At her first post-surgery follow up, the medical team broke the news that the tumor tested positive as Astrocytoma and it would progress at an unknown rate over the course of her life.
Kristin rebounded beyond what any doctor predicted. Despite the diagnosis, she ran a half marathon in April, reported to work every day, and energetically lived a full life with her family. Stanford Medical Center quickly took note of Kristin’s uniqueness and optimism and contacted her exactly 90 days post-surgery requesting her to participate in a patient education video project saying they had been looking for someone like her for nearly 2 years; she agreed and filmed the very next week. The video is still shown at Stanford here.
In July of 2018, Kristin had a second surgery lasting 6 hours, in which much of it she was awake and even spoke to PJ on the phone. She had three words in which she would repeat to prove to PJ that she was still her, Averie, Cameron, and Nolan. She also underwent radiation. Again, she bounced back as if she had only a headache. Once again she impressed her doctors by recovering so well and so quickly.
For a couple years, life went back to almost normal. The family balanced kid activities, full time careers and a healthy social life. Kristin especially loved Christmas traditions with her sister, sister-in-law, and niece and nephew. She loved visits from her in-laws, Ann and Pat Driscoll.
Due to Kristin’s health situation, she desired to plant roots and create stability for her family.  In November 2018, with the help of two dedicated captains that Kristin worked for, the family moved back to San Diego. PJ secured a position with his old company and Kristin returned to Sector San Diego.
They bought a beautiful home on the perfect street. It was refreshing to move into a new neighborhood. The couple chose to keep Kristin’s illness private and just live in the present. They fell in love with the cul-de-sac neighbors. The kids loved their new schools and friends. Averie, Cameron, and Nolan each got their own room, fully decorated with mermaids, unicorns, and race cars.
Following one of her regular scans, they were informed the tumor showed activity again. She faced her diagnosis with every intention of fighting for as much time as possible to raise her beautiful children. In May of 2019, she accepted her last set of orders as Chief of Emergency Management Force Readiness back at Sector San Diego.
During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, Kristin kept PJ gainfully employed working on an endless list of projects updating the home to her standards. Their inviting kitchen and main living space is filled with joy that pours out into their backyard oasis. Kristin was the task master, while PJ carried out all the marching orders. After long weekends working in the backyard, she would treat PJ to Panini Grill for his hard work.
As a Commander, Kristin retired on July 30, 2021 with a decorated 20-year military career. Her personal awards included the advanced Boat Force Operations Insignia, one Meritorious Service Medal, six Coast Guard Commendation Medals, two Coast Guard Achievement Medals, two Letters of Commendation, one NOAA Corps Directors Ribbon and various service and unit awards. Fun Fact: The Commandant and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, along with their spouses, surprised Kristin with their attendance at her retirement.
Nothing mattered to Kristin more than her family. She loved adventure and never missed an opportunity to share experiences with her family. Kristin and PJ vacationed in Hawaii, Lake Tahoe, the Grand Canyon and even snuck in a 10-year anniversary trip kid-free to St. Lucia.
PJ was the love of her life. Kristin frequently told her friends that she could have never dreamed of anyone else to share this journey with. She loved his kindness, patience, humor, and devotion to their family.
Kristin’s traits live on in her children. Tenacity, grit, compassion, and the sheer will to succeed. Soon after Kristin was first diagnosed, he told her one thing that had always resonated with him. “Refuse to lose”. These were more than words to this family. It was a motto, a way of life. Never give up, no matter the cost, no matter the odds. Never give up.
Kristin and PJ attracted a village of family, friends, neighbors and colleagues for their genuine kindness, wittiness and pure joy. This network of people will continue to keep Kristin’s spirit alive for her husband, children and anyone else who had the great honor of knowing her.
Kristin fought with dignity, courage and conviction during her four year battle. She kept her disease private while only sharing with her inner circle. She quietly went about her business, never complaining, never settling for less. We should all be amazed by what this woman was able to accomplish. Imagine how far she could have gone. Kristin was just different. Lumbering from radiation, fatigued from chemo, and saddened by her outlook Kristin never wavered. She stared into the darkness and defiantly stepped forward. She left this world at sunset, a final cruise to eternal peace. We should all be honored to have had this amazing woman in our lives.
Fair winds and following seas, Kristin.

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Kristin Driscoll Obituary | Keeper Memorials