Kathryn Edith Eberle Bauman

Kathryn Edith Eberle was born January 8, 1950, in Zanesville, Ohio, to August and Elizabeth Finley Eberle. She earned the highest honor in Girl Scouting, graduated from Lubbock’s Monterey High School in 1968, and spent a year in the nursing program at Texas Woman’s University in Denton before meeting and then marrying Richard Paul Bauman on August 23, 1969. The young couple lived in Lubbock while Richard finished his degree at Texas Tech University, and they proceeded to move multiple times throughout Richard’s years in the Air Force until they settled in Dallas in 1980. Married for fifty-two years, Richard preceded her in death on December 17, 2021.

Kathy was a long-time member of St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Richardson. Through the years, she was active in Girl Scouting, the Officers’ Wives Club while stationed in Germany, as a perpetual room mother, as an enthusiastic choir mom, and as a second mother to her children’s friends. She spent numerous years bringing communion to new mothers and other patients at Medical City Hospital and appreciated her years with the Women’s Guild at St. Paul. She was very proud to be part of her extended family, both the one she was born into and the one she married into, and she was generally considered to be the keeper of the family lore.

Kathy was the cherished granddaughter of Dr. J. Russell and Elizabeth Phelps Finley and Emil and Anna Weller Eberle. She is survived by her son, Bill Bauman, of Dallas; her daughter, Debbie Patton and her husband, Chris, of Houston; her grandson, Chris Patton and his wife, Kim, of Houston; her granddaughter, Makayla Patton and her wife, Ellie, of Houston; her sister and brother-in-law, Betty and Mark Yanko of Akron, Ohio; her brother and sister-in-law, Rusty and Cindy Eberle of Fredericksburg, Texas; step-mother, Mary Elizabeth Hoyt Eberle of East Wenatchee, Washington; step-brother and sister-in-law, Frank and Julie Herbert of Pateros, Washington; and step-sister, Melinda Lowrey of East Wenatchee, Washington. She also leaves behind beloved aunt and uncles, Lottie Patton, Erhard Eberle, and Tino Orta, along with a host of cousins, godchildren, nieces, nephews, as well as all of their children whom she considered her own.

Above all, Kathy wanted everyone to know that she loved her family. Her family includes cousins, nieces and nephews, aunts, uncles, in-laws, out-laws, and all of the “seconds” and “thirds” and “once-removeds.” If she met you and got you talking, there is a good chance she considered you part of her family. She knew all of the birthdays, kids, and pets of her family, and oftentimes, the day of the week of their birth.

Kathy loved her family. And, Kathy loved a project. Often she used the results of her projects to show her love to those she cared for. Over the years, she baked, sewed, gardened, scrapbooked, ministered, prayed, traveled, and loved. She was especially proud of her home-baked treats she distributed en masse at Christmas. If she wasn’t feeding you, she was clothing your children, or otherwise gifting you with (sometimes) random gifts as she tried to show that love.

Kathy fondly reflected on summers in Fredericksburg – and one especially memorable summer trip to Loon Lodge in Canada, fireflies and Tom’s Ice Cream Bowl in Zanesville, late Labor Day nights around bonfires, panning for gold in Colorado, and lunch at Chili’s after giving communion to new moms. She eagerly made birthday cakes for friends, gathered care packages for seminary students, and relished a chance to help with a party.

While Kathy would have preferred to finish her high school years in Midland, she loved her time at TWU, and she blossomed during her time in Germany – in part because of her friendships made and her connection to her German roots. She loved the extended months with Oma who would travel overseas to spend time with her siblings and family in and around Saffig. After a quick year in Boston, Kathy adjusted to civilian life in Dallas, where she relished being back in her adopted state of Texas and promptly formed her next group of lifelong friendships. During a tiring but precious six months, Kathy worked long weekends in Dallas while spending each week in Houston providing “daycare” for her grandson during his critical first months out of neonatal ICU. Five years later, she was equally dedicated to her granddaughter as both grandmother and godmother.

As the years passed, Kathy and Richard enjoyed traveling throughout the country with her in-laws and otherwise divided her time between Dallas, Edmond, Oklahoma, and Fredericksburg. Her efforts gradually shifted to the caretaking on her parents, Liz and Gus Eberle; her in-laws, Barbara and Paul Bauman; and, finally, her husband, Richard. Her friendships, her family, and her community at St. Paul sustained her during this time. Notably, the friendship and professional care of Dr. Gabrielle Patterson – along with Norma, Kim, and the rest of the office staff – provided love, counsel, and personal care to Kathy, which definitively enriched and extended Kathy’s life. We are grateful to everybody who loved and cared about her, and for her – physically and spiritually.

If desired, memorials can be made to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, St. Paul the Apostle Women’s Guild, St. Thomas High School (Houston, TX), or to the charity of your choice.