Catherine Kes, 89, of Jordan, passed away on January 11, 2024. A Time of Gathering was held at Ridges Golf Course in Jordan from 4-7pm on January 18, 2024. At 7:00 PM, there was a Celebration of Life ceremony held at Ridges – A recording of the service is available here: Cathy Kes Celebration of Life . Her Mass of Christian Burial was held at St. John the Baptist in Jordan (313 2 nd Street East, Jordan) on Friday, January 19, 2024 at 11:00 AM. Father Neil Bakker presided. A recording of mass is available here: Cathy Kes Mass . Lunch followed at Ridges. Prior to the mass, there was a time of visitation from 10-11am at St. Johns.
Born on November 6, 1934, Catherine was the third of 4 kids for Henry and Mary Pieper. She was born in Marystown and was raised in the family home outside of Marystown. Catherine attended the Marystown School until 8th grade and then graduated from Shakopee High School.
While attending a wedding for one of her dear friends, Catherine spent most of the night dancing with a soldier home on temporary leave from his base in Colorado. His name was Thomas, and his commander needed a letter from his mom to even let him go to the wedding. The two kept in contact while Tom finished up his service. Once his service was done, Catherine and Tom were married on September 18, 1956 at the Marystown Catholic Church.
The couple bought a farm outside of Jordan and established their life together there. They were blessed with 11 wonderful children. Catherine took care of the kids while Tom worked on the farm. Cooking the meals and doing the laundry was a full-time job, but she found time to help around the farm with some chores. Catherine also helped tend the massive gardens the family had. And once the garden had been harvested, she was in charge of canning. Nothing got in the way of her faith so every Sunday, the family made it to Mass. Catherine was busy, but when she had some down time, she loved listening and dancing to polka music, playing cards, and quilting.
Once her children started their own families, Catherine loved spending time with her grandchildren. She tried her hardest to never miss an event that they were involved with. Her love of playing cards was passed onto her children and then her grandkids. She didn’t take it easy on them, but once in a while, she would let one of them win. Her love for them could be seen in the food that she made for them. Her jellies and jams are some of the grandkid’s favorite foods.
A sweet and gentle soul, Catherine will be missed greatly by her loving husband, Thomas “TK”; children, Marvin (Cathy), Ellen (Dave), Ruth, Lucy, Laura (Steve), Sue (Ken), Doug (Susan), Lee (Deb), Julie (Mike), Marcia (John), Eric (Wendy); 32 grandchildren; 33 great grandchildren; brother, Dennis (Joan); and many other loving nieces, nephews, and friends.
Catherine is preceded in death by parents, Henry and Mary Pieper; grandkids; Benjamin and Lydia; and sisters; Alice and Louise.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred and will be distributed by the family to St. John’s School.
