Obituary of Cathryn M. Simenson (Cole)

Cathryn passed away peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday, August 8 at the age of 97 years young. She was a caring, fiercely independent and intelligent woman with a great sense of humor and strong sense of self. Born November 14, 1926 in Minneapolis, her family moved to a forest farm near the Canadian Border, where she grew up. She graduated at the top of her class in Little Fork, Minnesota, receiving a full scholarship for one year to Macalester College. She moved back north to International Falls, and worked as a reporter for the local Daily Journal, and also worked in a law office. She married and had two sons, Steve and John. As a single mom, she returned to college in midlife to study at University of Minnesota Duluth. She graduated with business and art degrees and moved to Brainerd, MN, where she taught for 10 years at the Brainerd Vocational Technical Institute.

Her next adventure took her to San Diego where she taught Business education in the San Diego School system for 25 years. She retired to Wilmington, IL to live near her son, John, his wife, Lilly, and their extended family. Following her son John’s unexpected passing in 2008, she moved to Minnesota to be closer to her son, Steve, and his extended family. She enjoyed her life in Minnetonka for 12 years at Ridge Point Senior Center. It was important to her to maintain her independence at every age, and she did so with grace and humor. She adored her son, Steve, her daughter-in-law Wendy, grandson Forrest, his wife Karolina, and great-grandchildren Johannes and Elliot -- the lights of her life. Cathryn was always interested in others, knew how to make friends and family laugh and never stopped being curious. She was blessed to reach the end of her life with her intellect and mobility at age 97.

She loved people, art, flowers and travel. Inquisitive till the end and an avid reader, she loved to recommend books for all to read. She was generous with her time and resources. While she did not like people to fuss over her, she always wanted to help others. Her smile lit up a room, her stories and wit will be greatly missed by all who knew her. Recently Cathryn said her life was pretty much complete, however, she hoped to live until her 98th birthday in November to cast her ballot and see Kamala Harris elected as president. Survived by son Steve (Wendy), grandson Forrest (Karolina) and great-grandsons Johannes & Elliot. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her. A private service will be held at a later date.