Kathryn (Schoenecker) Järvinen

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Järvinen, Kathryn (Schoenecker) age 83, of Winona, MN, died Wednesday, May 8, 2024, at Benedictine St. Anne Extended Healthcare, Winona, MN. Kathryn was born on August 1, 1940, to Mary (Quinn) and Norbert Schoenecker in Colfax, WA. She received her nursing diploma from the St. Cloud School of Nursing in 1961. She went on to pursue a Bachelor of Arts (1981) and Master of Arts in Human and Health Services Administration from St. Mary’s University, Winona (1989). Kathryn met her husband Richard in 1960 at a St. John’s University formal dance and the couple was married in 1961. Over the course of their fifty-year marriage, they raised two sons and were active members of the Winona community. After Richard’s death in 2011, Kathryn remained intensely committed to all her passions including nursing, education, politics, and the arts. In addition to a successful nursing career, Kathryn was a lifelong learner and modest yet incredibly accomplished public servant whose list of accomplishments were extensive. Her cherished passions included serving on the Winona County Women’s Political Caucus, holding two state appointed leadership positions on the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board and Minnesota Higher Education Facilities Authority. She was also the President of the Winona Area American Association of University Women, President of the Winona Area Alzheimer’s Network, and a founding member of the Winona Area Alzheimer’s Memory Walk. Her dedication to her husband, sons, and grandchildren was second to none. She cherished her many friends and family members and valued bringing loved ones together by creating memories centered around thoughtful meals, joy, and love. She loved spending family time at the Babbitt cabin where you would find her on the dock, fishing for northerns. She is survived by her sons: Caleb and Craig (partner Erin Beyer); grandsons Henry and George; siblings: Robert Schoenecker, Mary (Richard) Stevens, Carol (Cathy Geist) Schoenecker, Patricia (Doug Shoemaker) Schoenecker, Susan (Bob) Steffen, John Schoenecker, and Martha (David) Harper; sisters-in-law Jane (Richard-deceased) Schoenecker, Anne (Keith) Young, Brothers-in-law Jon (Margaret) Jarvinen, Donald (Greta) Jarvinen, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, and bothers Richard and Jerome Schoenecker. The celebration of life will be at Visions Event Center on June 8. Visitation at 10 am, memorial at 11 am, and a noon reception with lunch. She will be interred with her husband at Woodlawn Cemetery. Services entrusted to Fawcett Junker Funeral Home & Crematory, Winona, MN. Condolences: fawcett-junkerfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions in memory of Kathryn Jarvinen to the Saint Anne Winona Renovation - A Call to Care: Benedictine Foundation, 1347 West Broadway, Winona, MN 55987.

Published on May 27, 2024