Catherine "Kathie" Caraway

She was born January 27, 1929 in Peoria, to George and Ruth (Demick) Craig and raised by her grandparents, David Nace and Lida B Demick. She married Thomas Brown in 1950. She later married Ernest Caraway Jr. on March 5, 1983. He preceded her in death on January 28, 2002. Also preceding her in death were her parents and two brothers, David Craig and John Mahan.

Surviving are her two children, Nancy (Curtis) Neal of West Peoria and Michael (Venisa) Brown of The Villages, FL. Also surviving are four grandchildren, Nathan (Tametra) Cation of Peoria, Christopher Neal of Peoria, Anthony (Becky) Brown of Columbia, SC, and Nicholas (Gina) Brown of Peoria; and thirteen great-grandchildren, Taylor Pauli, Taryn Keith, Aviana Cation, Danika Cation, Sydney Mink, Aariya Alexander, Camdyn Scott, Victoria Sears, Anaya Meischner, Ethan Brown, Andrew Brown, Maximilian Brown and Leo Brown.

Kathie was a 1950 graduate of the Saint Francis School of Nursing in Peoria. She started her nursing career at Elm Haven Nursing home in Elmwood. She later worked as a Nurse with Caterpillar Inc. until retiring in 1986. Following retirement, she and Ernie traveled across the United States in their RV every fall and again in the winter months until his death.

She was a member of the East Peoria Church of Christ and Silver Sneakers at the Eastside Center in East Peoria and enjoyed traveling, shopping, eating out, playing bingo and cards, and a nice glass of Moscato. She also enjoyed collecting German Nutcrackers, reading, crocheting, embroidery, and crafts. Springtime was her favorite time of year, and her favorite colors were lilac and purple.

Kathie will be remembered as a loving mother, who worked hard to raise her children in Elmwood, Illinois. She was strong-willed and staunchly independent. Her great grandparents migrated to the Pennsylvania Dutch region from Germany and then her grandparents moved to Elmwood Illinois as farmers.

A funeral service will be at 11:00 am on Thursday, April 1, 2021 with visitation one hour prior to the service at Davison-Fulton Woolsey-Wilton Funeral Home in Peoria. Burial will follow the service at Swan Lake Memory Gardens in Peoria.

Memorials may be made to Loaves and Fish Feeding Ministry at First United Methodist Church in Peoria.