Katherine Anne Manz

Katherine Manz, beloved mother of Joseph Manz, Mary and John Lahikainen, Ruth Manz, Beth Manz, and Margaret and Dan Casey. Loving grandmother to Ian – who knew her as Granny from the day he was born - and Joseph and Leslie. Big sister to Joe, Rosemary, Leonard and Liz. Loving eldest daughter to John and Catherine Staller. She was Kathy, Katie-Anne, Mom and Granny. Her early objective in life was to become a nun, until she discovered boys. She became a mother extraordinaire, and the grandmother everyone would wish for. She looked for solutions instead of problems and faced many hurdles during her life that she navigated without complaint. Although she raised five children on her own, her kids were oblivious to any worries she may have had. She learned how to drive and got a job after 15 years as a stay-at-home mother and embraced the freedom that wheels, and a modest paycheck gave her. Told during a job interview that she had too many kids to be hired, she saw the experience as a lesson and thereafter told interviewers that she had three kids instead of five. It must have worked – she became a Court Recorder and worked 6 days a week until she retired. She could spell any word, and also knew the meaning. She played the clarinet and the piano. She loved the noise and chaos that five children and their friends brought into the house and said that she enjoyed every age as her children grew. What did she love? Her family, especially her grandson Ian, who was the joy of her life. She loved home, nature, walks with her dog Annie. She enjoyed reading, black coffee, chocolate for dessert. She looked at the clouds and pointed out airplane contrails and wondered where the people were going. She loved sitting around the kitchen table with her family, talking, laughing, listening, remembering. She inspired us all to try to be as good as she was at pretty much everything. Small in stature - Ian called her his little Granny - but a giant in the eyes of her family. She mastered the art of contentment. How will we navigate this world without her? We will hold her in our hearts, a pillar of strength and the definition of unconditional love. We will continue to call upon her strength and love from the reserve that she built to last our lifetimes. Donations in Katherine’s memory are preferred to the Utica Public Library, 7530 Auburn Road, Utica, MI 48317, or the Humane Society of Macomb, 11350 22 Mile Road, Utica, MI 48317.

Katherine Anne Manz

July 31, 1936 - July 16, 2021