Kathryn Krosschell's Obituary
Kathryn (Rensenbrink) Krosschell died on June 10, 2024 in Culpeper, Virginia at the age of 100.
Born in Pease, Minnesota on November 3, 1923 of Dutch immigrant parents Effie Kooiman and
John Rensenbrink, Kathryn grew up on a dairy farm. It was a life both difficult and joyous, the
hard work of farming balanced by love for her parents and six siblings, and for the animals that
sustained them. She especially delighted in racing on horseback with her brother John, and
later in life, in her beloved cats.
The challenges of World War II took her to Chicago to work in factories and, in a remarkable
achievement, to condense four years of high school into a one-year accelerated course. When
her father died, the family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she attended Calvin
College and met her future husband Peter Krosschell. They married in 1949.
Kathryn and Peter spent the 1950s and 60s in several cities and towns in Michigan, Ohio,
Minnesota, and Ontario, raising a family of three sons Jim, David, and Steve.
Kathryn was active in church and school groups of the Christian Reformed Church, and taught
grade-school children for several of those years. She loved teaching, especially the older grades
that others found difficult; her kindness and attentiveness made her highly respected. Indeed,
in her 50s she went back to college to complete her B.A. in order to teach with that credential.
Another highlight was owning a cabin on a river in northern Michigan for several years in the
1960s
Kathryn and Peter retired to Cleveland, Ohio in 1987 and soon thereafter bought a summer
cottage on a lake in Maine. They moved to Gorham, Maine full-time a few years later before
moving back to Ohio. After Peter died in 2009. Kathryn lived with family in Geneva, Ohio and
Culpeper, Virginia. She spent the last years of her life in The Culpeper retirement home.
Kathryn was kind, gentle, and modest. She loved animals and books, discussing world affairs
with her siblings and children, playing Scrabble with her family (and winning far too often), and
enjoying the shores of Lake Michigan, the Pere Marquette River, and Unity Pond – a life of faith,
service, and curiosity.
She is survived by sons Jim (Cynthia Dockrell), David (Peg Kramer), and Steve (Pat Jaimes),
grandchildren Sara, Jonathan, Kate, and Emma, and great-grandchildren Quinn and Trevor.
Her ashes are buried next to her husband in the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in
Rittman, Ohio.
A memorial service will be held at Found and Sons Funeral Home, Culpeper VA on Saturday, June 29, 2024, at 1 p.m.
An online guestbook and tribute wall are avaliable at www.foundandsons.com
Found and Sons Funeral Chapel of Culpeper is serving the family.
What’s your fondest memory of Kathryn?
What’s a lesson you learned from Kathryn?
Share a story where Kathryn's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Kathryn you’ll never forget.
How did Kathryn make you smile?