Kathy Waltke passed away peacefully in her sleep early Wednesday morning April 14, 2021, accompanied by her son Mitch and her granddaughter Emilee.
Kathleen is the eldest of three daughters of Harold and Mildred Weber. She is survived by Lois (Dan) Sprague and Marilee (Deon) Krehnke.
In 1955 she married Carl Waltke. Together they had Michael (Melody), Deborah, and Mitchell (Diane). Michael preceded her in death several years ago and she often spoke of visiting him in recent years. With Carl she learned a love of bluegrass music and was so talented in dancing that many aspired to be like her and she was often asked to teach.
In 1975 she became a grandma and learned a new passion in life. She is survived by all her grandchildren Angela, Amber, Dustin, Emilee, Eric (Melissa), Jennifer (John) and Joshua (Melissa); as well as several great-grandchildren who always brought a big smile to her face. She gained the nickname Granny in the early 90s and it was her favorite.
At 50 years old she divorced, never remarried, and moved to Utah to begin a new life. She opened her own business, Future Shape, a tanning bed and toning table studio. At Future Shape she established her social network of friends and became a well-known lady of the community.
In 1990 she sold the business and applied to work at the new business in town, Walmart. She worked at Walmart for 27 years in various supervisor positions and making lasting friendships. She loved lunchtime gossip!
Saturday mornings were reserved for Junkin. She would scour the Tooele Transcript Thursday night for the most appealing yard sales and Saturday she would call family and friends to arrange carpool. Saturday nights she had a long-standing commitment to bingo at the Elks Lodge. Very few events could alter her bingo schedule and she often won.
Her other passion was her monthly trip to Wendover with the ladies. They enjoyed the senior meals and often had great stories of big losses or wins.
She retired at 79 and adopted Sparky from the Tooele animal shelter. She would take him on long walks through her trailer court and made many new friends with her feisty dog and beautiful smile. Two years later she lost her son to a tragic heart attack. It accelerated her dementia, and she required more care. Through family and friends she was able to live at home for 11 more months and the following April moved into Rocky Mountain Care.
RMC helped her maintain her independence and she often assumed she was still working at Walmart. She would join the staff for meetings and gather the mail and other items on her long walks through the hallways. She loved and was loved by all the staff. Sammie the activity assistant would relay fun stories and always made sure everyone had their favorite ice cream.
In February of 2021 she started showing decline from the stress of COVID restrictions and the tough decision to move her to an assisted living facility where family could visit was made. She moved into Our House Assisted Living and quickly became a part of the memory care family. She blossomed and had the best smiles and cheerful personality. The staff are amazing and loved it when her and Emilee would sit and enjoy an evening beer or a quick visit with Sparky.
Dear Granny, we love you and your beautiful smile. You brought so much love and life to so many. You never expected much more than just a good time. Whether it be happy hour at Mel’s house watching the birds or a fun night at bingo you were never angry. We are so grateful you got the opportunity to see the world and live independently.
A memorial service will be held at Tate Mortuary, 110 S. Main St., Tooele, Friday, April 16, at 3:30 p.m., with a visitation beginning a half hour prior at 3 p.m.
Any charitable donations can be made in her name to Primary Children’s Hospital.