Kathleen Middendorf

Kathleen A. "Kathy" Middendorf, age 71 of Melrose, formerly of Freeport, died after a short battle with cancer on Monday, March 14, 2016 at the St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be 11 a.m. Thursday, March 17 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Freeport with Rev. Marvin Enneking officiating. Entombment will be in the parish cemetery.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose and from 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday at the church in Freeport. Parish prayers will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening at the funeral home.

Kathleen Alvina Barthel was born January 10, 1945 in Cold Spring, Minnesota to Mathias and Johanna (Buettner) Barthel. She graduated from Melrose High School in 1962. Kathy was united in marriage to Henry "Hank" Middendorf on May 8, 1965 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Melrose. The couple lived in Alexandria from 1965 through 1972. They moved their family to Freeport and resided there until 2012 when they moved to Melrose. Kathy was very proud to be a stay at home mother to care for her family.

She was a member of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Melrose. Kathy was a very talented artist and musician. Most trips that Kathy made to St. Cloud ended with a stop at Crafts Direct and Barnes and Noble. Kathy was always dressed to the nines and never left the house without her makeup on and was rarely seen without a ribbon in her hair. She enjoyed the outdoors where she liked to feed and watch the birds, but mostly she loved spending time with her family. Kathy was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother who will be deeply missed.

Survivors include her husband, Hank Middendorf of Melrose; children, Russ Middendorf of Melrose, Glen (Karen Brinkman) Middendorf of Sartell, and Pam Bokelman of Sauk Rapids; five grandchildren, Jacquelyn, Jacob, Grace, Brandon, and Noah; and sister, Frances "Fran" Schreifels of Melrose.

Kathy was preceded in death by her parents; sister, Lorraine Schreifels; and brothers, Donald Barthel, Robert Barthel, and Allen Barthel.

Serving as casket bearers will be Chris Middendorf, Dennis Middendorf, Greg Middendorf, Leon Middendorf, Sarah Middendorf, Lynn Lange, and Jacob Bokelman. Cross bearer will be Brandon Bokelman and scripture bearer will be Grace Middendorf. Honorary bearers will be members of Kathy's Coffee Clutch and Coloring Group.