Mary Catherine (Kay) Schwabe, age 80, of Breda, died Friday, November 25, 2022 at St. Anthony Nursing Home in Carroll.
Mass of the Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 29, 2022 at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church in Breda. The celebrant will be Fr. Terry Roder. Con-Celebrant will be Fr. Gary Snyder. Music will be by Marilyn Hundling and the St. Bernard’s Choir. Lector will be Isabel Schwabe. Gift Bearers will be Sydney Shaw, Emily Lorenz, Jordan Schwabe, and Charlotte Schwabe. Casket Bearers will be Andrew Young, Eric Young, Alex Young, Justin Young, Josh Young, Tyler Thraen, Scott Thraen, Nathan Kellen, Cole Owens, Maverick Schwabe, Alex Schwabe, and Christopher Schwabe. Burial will be in St. Bernard’s Cemetery in Breda.
Visitation will be held at St. Bernard’s Church in Breda from 5 to 7p.m. on Monday where a Christian Wake Service will be held at 7 p.m. Visitation will resume at St. Bernards Church on Tuesday morning from 9:30 – 10:15 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions left for Kay’s family will be gathered and directed to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Funeral arrangements are under the guidance of the Sharp Funeral Home in Breda and online condolences may be left for Kay’s family at www.sharpfuneral.com.
Kay was born on April 21, 1942 and was welcomed into the home of Dennis and Loretta (Maguire) Hickey as a toddler. She grew up with her two siblings in Vail, Iowa, attending St. Ann’s Catholic School through 12th grade. Following graduation, Kay was employed as a bookkeeper in Denison.
Kay met Roger Schwabe at a dance at the Arcadia Legion Hall in 1958. They were married on June 24, 1961, at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Vail, Iowa, and settled in Breda, where they raised their five children. Roger and Kay celebrated 60 years of marriage in 2021.
Kay was an active wife, mother, and volunteer. She was also a childcare provider, a 4-H leader, and led a bean-walking crew during the summer months for several years. In 1978 Roger and Kay purchased Toyne’s Fire Truck Service where Kay began serving as the bookkeeper until Roger’s retirement in 2001. Kay continued to work part-time in the office at Toyne’s until 2019. She entered Sunnybrook Memory Care in March of 2019 and resided there until June of 2021 when she was moved to St. Anthony Nursing Home, where she died on November 25, 2022.
Kay enjoyed playing cards with friends and family, and spending time with family at their lake home in Lake View. Kay was always helping someone in need, visiting the elderly at nursing homes, and transporting friends to doctor appointments. She was a member of St. Bernard Parish, the Catholic Order of Foresters, and the Breda Legion Auxiliary.
Kay is survived by her husband, Roger; her children: Jean (Chris) Young of Breda, Pat (Tony) Thraen of Omaha, Mike (Paula) Schwabe of Breda, Sharon (Carl) Owens of Omaha, and Bill (Pam) Schwabe of Carroll; 17 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; her brother and sister: Jim (Gayle) Hickey of Hawkins, Texas and Jean Schumacher of Alpharetta, Georgia, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
She was preceded in death by her adoptive parents Dennis and Loretta Hickey, mother and father-in-law Ben and Elizabeth Schwabe, brothers-in-law Peter Schumacher, Bernard Irlbeck, Leonard Schumacher, and Paul Schwabe, and sister in-law Marie Schumacher.
