Catherine Frances (Keefe) MORRISSEY

MORRISSEY, KEEFE, KILLAM, LUDWICK, MCCURRY, VALDEZ, WEYER, SCHNEIDER

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/11/2011 at 16:14:36

July 21, 1918 - February 9, 2011

Catherine Frances Keefe Morrissey

Urbandale IA -- Catherine Morrissey, 92, passed away on February 9, 2011, at Mercy Hospice in Johnston, Iowa. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 12, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 3663 66th St., in Urbandale, Iowa, with interment immediately following at St. John's Cemetery in Clarion, Iowa. The family will receive friends from 6 to 7 p.m. on Friday, February 11, at Iles Funeral Homes-Westover Chapel with a Rosary at 7 p.m.

Catherine was born on July 21, 1918, in Chicago, Illinois, to Frank and Florence Keefe. She lived in New Orleans and moved to Des Moines in 1932, graduated from North High School in Des Moines in 1934, and attended Capital City Commercial College. While Catherine was employed as a comptroller for the IRS, she met and married Martin H. Morrissey on June 12, 1948, at Holy Trinity Church in Des Moines.

They moved to Clarion, Iowa, in 1949, and she assisted her husband with his law practice until his death in 1963. After her husband's death, Catherine returned to Des Moines to work with the IRS as an auditor, until her retirement in 1982. Catherine was a member of St. Pius X Catholic Church, St. Pius Altar & Rosary Society, Legion of Mary, Catholic Daughters, American Legion, VFW Ladies Auxiliary, Urbandale Historical Society, and North High Alumni. Travel and dance were her special interests.

She will be missed by her daughters, Rita Killam (Bill) of Denver, CO; Peggy Ludwick (Roy) of Boulder, CO; Teresa McCurry (Robert) of Beaumont, TX; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; her niece, Ann Valdez, who sustained her in her later years; countless nieces, nephews, grand-nieces, and grand-nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband, Martin H. Morrissey; parents, Frank and Florence Keefe; and two sisters, Rita Weyer and Rose Schneider.

Special thanks to the staff of Bishop Drumm Care Center and Mercy Hospice for their care and kindness. Memorial contributions may be made to Mercy Hospice, Johnston, Iowa.

Des Moines Register -- Iowa
February 11, 2011