Services
Obituary
Kathleen Ann Colby, mother and friend, passed in peace on March 26th at the Summit House in Britt, Iowa.
Kathleen honorably donated her body for medical research to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Private family services will be held at a later date.
Born Kathleen Ann Paulson on September 12, 1927 to Martha and Carl Paulson of Hanlontown, Iowa. She graduated from Hantontown High School in 1945. Kathy attended Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa for a year before beginning nurse’s training at Fairview Nursing School in Minneapolis, MN.
Kathy married John Eli Colby on December 6, 1953 and resided in Hanlontown, Iowa before relocating to Albert Lea, MN and before settling in Lake Mills in 1962.
After purchasing a home in Scottsdale, AZ in 1978, Kathy made a home in that community while John traveled extensively for the family business. Kathy worked as a claims adjuster for Sentry Insurance Company until her retirement in 1986.
In a desire to spend time with her grandchildren, Kathy moved back to the Midwest and chose Rochester, MN as her new home. She worked for 10 years as a ward secretary on the transplant unit at Methodist Hospital. She continued as a volunteer in the outpatient surgery unit at the Methodist Hospital.
She enjoyed golfing, reading, taking long walks, get-togethers with family and friends, and spending time with her grandchildren.
Kathy is preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Alice Paulson and Marilyn Faser; a brother, Arnold Paulson; a sister-in-law, June Paulson; and a brother-in-law, Louis Mellencamp. She is survived by a sister, Donna Mellencamp of Denver, Colorado, a brother-in-law, Richard Faster; and three children, John (Kathy) Colby of Britt, IA, Julie (Brian) Wagner of Maquoketa, IA, Blake Colby of Rochester, MN, and four grandchildren, Joseph Colby, Morgan (Ted) Schwerzler, Jordan Colby, and Ben Wagner; as well as a a great-grandson, Eli Schwerzler.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Summit House, 600 1st Street NW, Britt, IA 50323.
If Roses Grow in Heacen
By Dolores M. Garcia
If roses grow in heaven,
Lord please pick a bunch for me,
Place them in my Mother's arms
and tell her they're from me.
Tell her I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for awhile.
Because remembering her is easy,
I do it every day,
but there's an ache within my heart
that will never go away.