Obit: Schraufnagel, Katherine (1918 - 2008)

Contact: Stan
Email: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Schraufnagel, Lamont, Hamilton, Heppner, Pinter, Steele, Wilke, Rand, Maslowski, Franklin

----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis.) Friday, 26 Dec. 2008

Schraufnagel, Katherine (31 Mar. 1918 - 25 Dec. 2008)

Katherine Schraufnagel, 90, died Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, at Hill View Health Care Center, La Crosse. Services are pending.

The Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home of Abbotsford is assisting the family with arrangements.

----Source: Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood Co., Wis.) Tuesday, 30 Dec. 2008

Katharine Schraufnagel, 90, died a peaceful death on Christmas Day 2008 at Hillview Health Care Center in La Crosse. A celebration of her life will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 2, 2009, at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Colby, Wis. The Rev. Benjamin Franklin will officiate.

Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Colby, Wis. Visitation for family and friends will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 1, at Maurina-Schilling Funeral Home in Abbotsford with a Rosary service at 6:30 p.m., and from 10 a.m. until time of service Friday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Colby, Wis.

Katharine was born to Katharine and Robert Heppner on Easter Sunday, March 31, 1918, in Colby, Wis. She married Alphonse Schraufnagel on Jan. 15, 1947, at St. Mary's Church in Colby, Wis. Katharine was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend.

During World War II, Katharine worked for McDonnell Douglas in Chicago; she then worked in the shipyards in Wilmington, Del., where she wired running lights on Navy destroyers.

Katharine is known to her family and friends as being a strong, independent woman. She was caring, selfless and extremely generous to all those around her. She volunteered her time at St. Mary's Church and with the Cherokee Chums 4-H club. She took great pride in mentoring children and teaching them how to sew. Katharine's hobbies included traveling, gardening, baking, reading and sewing.

Katharine and Alphonse lived on the farm until 1981, when they moved to Colby, Wis. Katharine then moved to Phillips in 1996 and resided at Duroy Terrace and Pleasant View Nursing Home until she moved to Hillview Health Care Center in 2004, where she resided until her death.

Katharine has influenced the lives of many with her unconditional love and adventurous spirit. She taught her loved ones the importance of family, to live each day to the fullest and to always make time for a good cup of coffee. She will forever be remembered in hearts of many.

Katharine is survived by her three siblings: Stella Lamont, Bernice Hamilton and Robert Heppner; five loving children: Judith (Robert) Pinter, Rochester, Minn.; Susan (James) Steele, Potomac, Md.; Katharine (John) Wilke, Phillips; James Schraufnagel, Colby; and Lori (Anthony) Rand, La Crosse. She is also survived by her 10 grandchildren: Christopher, Amy and Michael Pinter, James and Philip Steele, Katherine Wilke Maslowski and Casey Wilke, and Rebecca, Elizabeth and Meghann Rand.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Alphonse Schraufnagel, and her sisters Charlotte Borchardt and Marie Halverson.