Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, February 5, 2021, at Broadway Presbyterian Church (710 23rd St., Rock Island, IL). Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service. She will be laid to rest in Oakdale Cemetery. The service will be available to view via livestream at www.facebook.com/therunge. Memorials may be made to the Broadway Presbyterian Church in Rock Island, IL, or the Putnam Museum in Davenport, IA. Online condolences may be expressed at www.rungemortuary.com.
Katie was born in Davenport, IA, on July 28, 1921, to Alfred and Evelyn (Percy) Fleu. She graduated from Davenport High School in 1939, and attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA, where she met Robert H. Foulkes. On June 10, 1944 they were married at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. Katie worked as office manager for Dr. Kate Daum in the Dietetics and Nutrition Dept. of University of Iowa Hospitals while Bob was finishing his Post-Doctoral work. After marriage, she and Bob lived in Iowa City, IA, Detroit, MI, DeKalb, IL, Brentwood, MO, Charles City, IA, and Rock Island, IL.
Katie was an active woman and involved in many organizations. She was a 75+ year member of Chi Omega Sorority, member of Quad City Pan-Hellenic, past president of the Putnam Museum Guild where they organized seven bus trips to the King Tut exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago in the late 70’s, the Scott County Iowa Genealogical Society, Rock Island County Historical Society, a past member of the Davenport Rainbow Assembly where she received their Grand Cross, served as president of Rock Island Rainbow Mother’s Club, current 50+ year member of Orion OES, associate member of Moline Hi-12 and Kaaba Shrine. She also belonged to QC Botanical Center, AAUW, RI CO Republican Women, a charter member of the Cornish Welsh Heritage Society of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois, German American Heritage Center in Davenport, IA, Iowa Welsh Society, Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin, and Welsh North American Association.
Genealogy was a major interest of hers and she would work on it while accompanying Bob to the Cymdeithas Madog Welsh Language Schools. She traveled extensively with Bob to places such as Wales, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and Germany on a tour of their ancestral homesteads.
Those left to cherish her memory include her daughter, Gwen (Hank Runge) Foulkes of Davenport, IA; cousin, James Amon Grantham and family of Kearneysville, WV; Bob’s nephews, Patrick Ferren of Glenview, IL, Andrew Ferren of Madison, WI, and Michael Ferren of Northbrook, IL.
She was preceded in death by husband (5/22/2010) and her parents.
