Kathryn M. Schroeder

Kathryn M. (Wilson) Schroeder, 94, of Valley Center, died on March 20, 2017. Kathryn was born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on November 15, 1922. She was married in 1947 to Arlo Schroeder, who predeceased her. She was the mother of Jan Schroeder (deceased), Alan Schroeder of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Ronald Schroeder of Bloomington, Minnesota. Her parents, Carl and Gerda Wilson, and two brothers, Carl and Alan Wilson, predeceased her. She is survived by two sisters, Marilyn George of Valley Center, and Janice Baker of Wichita, and by daughter-in-law Cindy Schroeder of Bloomington, Minnesota, plus four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Several years after graduating from high school in Burrton, Kathryn joined the military during World War II, becoming the first woman Marine from the state of Kansas. She served as a Link trainer at military bases in North Carolina and Florida. After the war she worked briefly at the Harvey County News in Newton before becoming a full-time homemaker. She was active in several organizations, including PTA and the Experimental Aviation Association, and she spent many years as a member of the Valley Center Planning Commission. Her hobbies included dollhouses, reading, and playing games with family and friends. She was a longtime member of Zion Lutheran Church in Newton.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 23, at Zion Lutheran Church, with a visitation from 5 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22. A memorial has been established at Zion Lutheran in Newton. Petersenfamilyfuneralhome.com.