Kathleen Ann Mikula

June 3, 1934 - June 27, 2019

A resident of The Hills of Lakeway, Texas Kathleen was born in South Bend, Indiana on June 3, 1934 to Josephine A. (Fries) Brennan and John R. Brennan. Kathleen was always a lively, happy, and compassionate person, full of fun and good spirit, always remaining joyful through the ups and downs of life. As a girl, Kathleen learned to play the piano, which she enjoyed for a lifetime.

She attended Holy Cross elementary school and Saint Joseph Academy in South Bend. She graduated from Saint Mary’s college in Notre Dame, Indiana, with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. After teaching at Marquette grade school, she went on to graduate school at Indiana University and earned her master’s degree. She did further graduate work at Université Laval in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Before relocating to California, where she much preferred the warmer climate, she travelled through eight European countries.

Once settled in Long Beach, California, Kathleen joined the Catholic Alumni Club and, through a mutual friend, met Mitchell Joseph Mikula from Chicago, Illinois. They married on July 21, 1962, at Holy Cross Church in South Bend, Indiana. They bought a house in Glen Ellen, Illinois where they welcomed their first two children. Kathleen was soon a busy full-time mother.

In 1966, Mitchell was transferred to Northern California. They initially lived in Concord, where they had their third child before moving to Pittsburg, California and having their fourth child. Kathleen and Mitchell moved to Antioch, California and spent eight years building a house in a five-acre almond orchard in Oakley, California. Once her youngest child entered high school, she returned to teaching to ultimately run the computer lab and begin the community garden at Kimball Elementary in Antioch, California. She retired from teaching in 2003 and Kathleen and Mitchell moved to Lakeway, Texas in 2004 to be near their children. Kathleen was a longtime member of the third order Secular of St. Francis and was active in parish ministries wherever they lived. As a member of Emmaus Catholic Parish in Lakeway, Texas, she devoted much of her time as a volunteer. Her later years were spent caring for her husband, loving her children and grandchildren, and enjoying her plants and flowers.

Kathleen is survived by her children: Marissa Mikula of Cedar Park, Anastasia Mikula-Curtis (son-in-law Michael Curtis, and grandchildren Matthew, Katherine, and Alexandria) of Westlake, Mitchell B. Mikula (daughter-in-law Linda Marbach Mikula, and grandchildren Mitchell Everett, Vincent, Nathan, Margaret, and Maximilian) of Pflugerville, and Patrick B. Mikula of Austin. She is also survived by her brother Daniel Brennan of Kerrville, sister Mary Schilling of Granger, Indiana, and 14 nieces and nephews.

A Memorial Mass will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, July 12, 2019 at Emmaus Catholic Church. (1718 Lohmans Crossing Rd.). Kathleen will be interred next to Mitchell Joseph Mikula, her beloved husband, in the columbarium at Emmaus Catholic Parish, in Lakeway.