Kathleen Mikutis

Kathleen Mary Mikutis passed on to the glorious gardens beyond, Monday, March 29, 2021. She began her story in the city of Chicago on Sept. 8, 1945, raised by a strong, witty Irish mom and a German jitterbug loving father. Being the oldest of two siblings, Judy and Joe, she immediately decided to be the fearless, strong leader of their family. Vowing to take on any challenge and to always stand by her convictions. One thing she was passionate about was frequenting every Chicago swimming pool, including the one where she met her Harley driving sweetheart, Leonard Mikutis. That catapulted her into her greatest and probably bravest work, marrying Lenny and having 8 kids (Joel, Colleen, Claudine, Matthew, Ben, Madeline, Jean Marie, and T.J). Though this was one of her greatest wishes, to have a great big loving family and most fulfilling, she had lots more to explore. Kathy did not fade into the mom sunset. She had more character than a library holds in its books. Kathy would show her family to fully embrace life. Her home would be filled with music from the Rolling Stones, Doobie Brothers, Queen, Boston Pops, E.L.O., Bruno Mars and many others. If it had a good beat, she would either whistle or dance with her signature twist spin. Holidays enveloped the house from homemade decorations to delicious baked goods for miles. Her favorite being Halloween, from her kids homemade costumes to the hand painted front window mural, one couldn’t help but to smile. If she wasn’t creating something artistic, she was busy reading. As a true nightowl, her bedside table was always piled high with mystery novels. Most mornings she could be found sprawled out on the kitchen floor with a newspaper, a cup of coffee and her hair in rollers. She never stopped learning or caring about our world. She and Lenny became passionate vegetable gardeners. She used their fresh vegetables to teach herself how to be an extraordinary cook. Her homemade pizza became legendary, only matched by the coveted cookies she passed out at Christmas. She never said I can’t or I won’t. She volunteered anywhere and everywhere to support her kids and community. When she wasn’t helping, she loved to watch a good movie, science fiction was what always enthralled her the most. Star Wars reigned in her house for years, then she met the only man who she loved as much as Lenny, Doctor Who. Kathy was a Whovian with her whole heart. She loved all things with aliens and suspense. She never stopped, if she had a moment she would fill it. She went to nursing school while working full-time. She loved taking pictures like her dad, so she took photography classes and then volunteered to be her son's team photographer. She took a job at the Bloomingdale Fire Department as a dispatcher. She loved the spirit of ensuring people got the help they needed. The family environment formed lifelong friends she held dear to her heart. She loved repurposing and saving vintage exquisites, thus traveling a million country roads to auctions with her brother Joe. Then selling them as a dealer at local flea markets. Finally with her kids getting older Kathy and Lenny began traveling. Her absolute favorite being anywhere with mountains from the Grand Tetons to the Rocky Mountains. They intended to retire in Mountain Home Arkansas near the Smoky Mountains. Sadly Lenny passed on before they could. This drove Kathy to embrace what was truly important, spending time back in the garden, this time as a healing place. She used her life long passion to protect the earth by doing organic gardening. She shared that passion with her 15 grandkids (Taylor, Brittany, Cole, Riley, Ben, Max, Harrison, Mya, Marissa, Vianne, Logan, Bram, Maddie, Rowan and Sofia), spending time planting and sharing her love of plants. Breaks were filled with her other love, politics. Kathy was a liberal Democrat and believed to her core that this world needed to start taking care of people, all people for the greater good. That’s when she switched from just flowers to farming. She truly felt you could not only make a difference, but you should. At 70 she began supplying local food banks with her organic vegetables and herbs. She joined garden clubs and nature clubs to keep her mind sharp and support her life’s goal, to help those in need. Always fascinated by weather, she became a daily weather reporter for her area, spending hours measuring precipitation and learning about weather patterns. Equally important was making time for friends and family in her home. Where she relished sharing good food and humorous stories. Her circle of friends also included a small senior dance meet-up group, where she worked her decorating extraordinaire magic. Surely an occasional signature twist spin ended many of those dance nights. Finally slowing down and the house emptying out, she volunteered to walk rescue dogs. Leading her to the perfect sidekick, a chubby Chihuahua named Pablo, who happily obliged her on quiet walks around her garden. They would stop to feed the fish in her pond, fill up the bird feeders, and check on Sebastian the stray they adopted into their circle. She had completed her life’s tapestry, her heart found it’s music. She lived her life with love and grace and the world's most beautiful smile. And, in the end, her greatest garden was all the love and passion she nurtured in all of those that were lucky enough to know her. Friends and family are welcome to gather at Kathy’s garden on Saturday, April 10th, 2021. Visitation will be from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, remembrance honoring 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, a donation to your local food bank is a welcomed expression of sympathy. Info (630)529-5751