Katherine Finkbeiner

Katherine Finkbeiner passed away peacefully at AGAPE Care Systems in Caro under the care of Home & Hospice Advantage on Monday, March 1, 2010, at the grand age of 95. Katherine was born in Grandin, Missouri on September 21, 1914, the daughter of the late Louis & Katy (Pavlichek) Kovach, both from Budapest, Hungary. Her parents lived in Missouri, then moved to Van Wert, Ohio, and finally to Detroit to work in the sugar beet fields when Katherine was three years old. Her family was unique by todays standards in that her parents and all seven children sat at a table and had dinner every night together. Katherine went to school in Detroit until her father bought a farm and moved the family to Owendale, where she would meet her future husband, Owen Finkbeiner, at a dance. The couple courted for one and a half years and on Christmas, he proposed to her. They were united in marriage on January 19, 1935. Katherine was a homemaker and farm wife for most of her life, but also worked as a secretary at Automotive Industries in Owendale where she did payroll. She loved her family and spoke of her grandchildren to anyone who would listen. Katherine loved to cook and bake, especially bread and soup. She liked to tell jokes and stories. Before she lost her vision, she also enjoyed reading and crossword puzzles. Katherine would listen to the Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons on television. Her favorite shows were Jeopardy, The Price is Right, and Wheel of Fortune. Katherine and Owen had one son, Alan J. Finkbeiner and his wife, Jan, of Caro; two grandchildren, Andrew Finkbeiner of Deford, Natalie Finkbeiner and her boyfriend, Marvin Byler, of Columbia City, Indiana; and many nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly. She was preceded in death by her husband, Owen, in January of 1980 and by all of her brothers and sisters, Louie, Mike, Alex, Mary, Esther and Elizabeth.