 LOUIS, KATHLEEN C. On November 21, 2014, Kathleen C. Louis died peacefully after a long illness. Known to family and close friends as Kac or Kathy, she was born on January 21, 1931, in St. Paul, MN, to Joseph P. and Florence M. (Porter) Cunniff, and was raised in Rosemount, MN. In her youth, Kac attended the Church of St. Joseph. She graduated from Rosemount High School in 1948 and from the College of St. Catherine with a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1952. She worked as a nurse in Veterans Administration hospitals in St. Paul, MN, Los Angeles, CA, and Albuquerque, NM. On June 19, 1959, Kathy married Ernest Michael (Mike) Louis in Albuquerque. They raised five children in Albuquerque and Crystal Lake, IL. As the kids became more autonomous, Kathy returned to work as a real estate broker. She and Mike spent their retirement years in New Mexico and Minnesota, sometimes wintering in Texas. This free spirit found much to love wherever she lived. In her final year, Mike and Kathy moved to Columbia, IL to live near their son's family. Kac had a face that everyone thought was familiar. She had a ready smile and the bluest of eyes, making friends everywhere she lived. She was a creative mother, whose talent for making something out of nothing provided an atmosphere of abundance for her family. Kac's joys included mysteries, puzzles, gardening, genealogy, travel, poetry, and da Bears. She did beautiful needlework, which she often gave as a gift, and she treasured her grandkids, showering them with love and gifts. Kac's penmanship was exquisite. She made the best Christmas fudge you ever tasted, and, no one was better at finding a four-leaf clover. Kac was predeceased by her parents, her brothers, John F. Cunniff and Gerald J. Cunniff; brother-in-law, Roger Kuchera; and son-in-law, Conard B. (Mac) McCarley. She is survived by her husband; her sister, Jeanne (Roger) Kuchera, Albertville, MN; daughters Mary E. (David) Dolan, Dallas, TX; Margaret J. Louis, Missoula, MT; Tracy P. Slavin, Madison, WI; Suzanne E. (Mac) McCarley, Lafayette, IN; son, Michael A. (Sandra) Louis, Columbia, IL; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. A wake will be held on December 9, 2014 at the Fireside Bar and Restaurant, 3410 150th St. W, Rosemount, MN, from 6:30 - 9:30p.m. A visitation will begin at 10:00a.m., prior to the funeral Mass on December 10, 2014, at 11:00a.m. at the Church of St. Joseph, 13900 Biscayne Ave, Rosemount, MN, followed by a reception. Interment will be at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, NM, at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Catherine's University, 2004 Randolph Ave, F-12, St. Paul, MN 55105, or Scott Kuchera/Peter Phenow Scholarship Foundation, 5586 Kalland Ave. NE, Albertville, MN 55301.
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