Kathy was born in Marshalltown, IA on July 15, 1952, to Richard & Mary Lou Holley. She graduated from Marshalltown High School and later in life went back to college and graduated Summa Cum Laude with a BA from Buena Vista College.

For more than 30 years, Kathy worked as a social worker at the Department of Human Services. She was a caring and compassionate person and understood that hard times can fall on anyone, at anytime; to never judge and always be of service to people in need. When the opportunity arose, she took an early retirement package and moved to Lake Cornelia (Clarion, IA).

Lake Life suited her very well. She took a part-time job at That Iowa Girl and focused on her family. It was common she and her kids would kick off weekends with Bloody Mary’s & Mimosas. Afternoons were spent boating, BBQ’ing and sitting by the fire with her lake family. Her laugh could be heard for miles. An amateur chef, she sprearheaded “The Progressive Dinner,” a popular multi-course dinner event for Lake Cornelia residents that raised money for the SW Dock Association.

For the last 6 years, Kathy battled many serious health issues but no matter how much pain and suffering she was in, she always had a smile on her face, kept a positive attitude and showed everyone around her to never give up!

Kathy is preceded in her death by her father, Richard Holley and brother Jim Holley, and many beloved dogs.

She is lovingly survived by her mother, Mary Lou Holley; brother Joe (Rhonda) Holley; her son Che (Lisa) Hanson; daughter Kara (Joe) Stalzer and favorite child Hethe (Becky) Hanson; plus 9 grandchildren: Zach, Caleb (Trisha), Cassie, Caden, Chloe, Camden, Ike, Rachel (TJ) and Seth; and great grandchildren Jaxon & Lincoln. And last but not least, she leaves behind her best friend Marley Moore (Zuchon) who kept her laughing and gave her a reason to get out of bed everyday.