Catherine "Kay" Schuetze

Catherine “Kay” Schuetze, 80, of Columbus Junction, Iowa, passed away on September 11, 2015 at Kavanagh House Hospice in Des Moines, Iowa. A mass to honor Kay is scheduled for Saturday, October 31 at 9:00 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Columbus Junction. A private burial service in Paxico, Kansas with family members will follow.

Catherine Louise Cummings was born on August 28, 1935 to Tim and Louise Cummings and raised in the Kansas City, Kansas area. Kay graduated from Bishop Ward High School in Kansas City in 1953. On July 3, 1954, she was united in marriage to Lawrence Roger Schuetze in Kansas City, Kansas. They made their home in Manhattan, Kansas, where Roger graduated from Kansas State University. After a series of moves, Kay and Roger settled in Columbus Junction in 1965. Kay worked for many years at Thatcher Manufacturing in Muscatine, and later at Moore Business Forms in Iowa City. Kay’s most rewarding position, however, was working at a group home for the developmentally disabled in Iowa City. Kay was an accomplished basketball player in high school, and later enjoyed tennis and many spectator sports. Always sharing a love for music, Kay played the saxophone and recorder when she was younger. Her greatest joy, however, was her family. She enjoyed spending time with her children and grandchildren. She had a strong fondness for animals.

Survivors include her two sons, Charles (Heidi) of Anchorage, Alaska; Martin (Robin) of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and a daughter, Patricia (Quinn) Turner of West Des Moines, Iowa; five grandchildren, Jennifer Junker (Jeremiah), Ann Arbor, Michigan; Amanda Turner, Des Moines, Iowa; Christopher Schuetze, East Berne, New York; Sarah Scherber, La Crosse, Wisconsin; and Jake Scherber, Robbinsdale, Minnesota. She was preceded in death by her husband Roger, two sons, Dan and Brian, and brother, Ralph Cummings.

The family wishes to thank the staff at Kavanagh House for the care provided to Kay. Memorials may be made to the Nancy Kent Animal Shelter in Muscatine.