Katharina Hohmann

Katherina “Katie” Hohmann, age 100, of Tampa, Florida, passed away peacefully on June 25, 2024. Katie lived a full and meaningful life marked by a resilient spirit and filled with the love of family and friends.

Katie was born in a small village in Stefansfeld, Yugoslavia, and at age 17, married Jakob Hohmann, the love of her life, from a neighboring village. Soon after their marriage, war broke out and Katie and Jakob were separated shortly after Katie became pregnant with their first child, a daughter named Frieda. Jakob was captured in Italy and sent to a POW in Scotland while Katie, her father, mother-in-law, and baby Frieda endured the hardships of life in a Serbian concentration camp. Tragically, at the age of three, Frieda passed away in the camp. With a broken but resilient heart, Katie and her parents escaped the camp, and eventually reunited with Jakob in Austria. Following the war, the family settled in Spaichingen, Germany.

The post war years brought brighter times for Katie and Jakob. In 1949 the pair welcomed their first son, Robert, followed by Erwin in 1952. In 1958, the family emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio to seek new opportunities and a better life for their two sons. Katie worked as a talented seamstress, and her free time was filled with baking, socializing with friends, dancing to polka music, sewing, knitting, and working in her vegetable garden. Over the years, she lovingly crafted numerous beautiful sweaters, blouses, and dresses for her children and grandchildren alongside thousands of Christmas cookies that became a cherished family tradition.

In 1989 the couple settled in Port Charlotte, Florida, where they built their dream home to be closer to loved ones. However, soon after their 50th wedding anniversary, Jakob became ill and passed away less than three months later.

In the decades that followed, Katie found joy in family gatherings (especially her Christmas eve birthday celebrations), card parties with friends, the friendship of her lifelong friend, Anna Fackelmann, and baking beautiful cakes and cookies for the people she loved.

Katie was predeceased by her beloved daughter, Frieda, her loving husband, Jakob, and her dear son, Robert. She is survived by her son, Erwin Hohmann (Lori); daughter-in-law, Hanne Hohmann; her six grandchildren, Mindy Thomas, Andreas Hohmann (Tanja), Robert Hohmann (Jesica), Thomas Hohmann (Sarah), Christina (Michael), and Heidi Pope (Dustin); and her eight great-grandchildren, Rhett, Birdie, Jakob, Paul, Jonas, Emma, Ella, and Molly. Her legacy lives on in the hearts of her family, who knew her well and will miss “Oma” deeply.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Katherina’s memory to AccentCare Hospice & Palliative Care-Hillsborough County, an organization that provided her with comfort and care in her final years.

Katie will be remembered for her strength and resilience, her joyful laugh, her green thumb, her famous “Oma” cookies, and the love she poured into her family throughout her long, love-filled, and beautiful life.

A graveside service for Katharina will be held Monday, July 1, 2024, from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM at 1380 Forrest Nelson Blvd, Port Charlotte, FL 33952.