Katherine Lutz

KATHERINE LUTZ

Vinton

Katherine Lutz, 91, died peacefully at her home, under hospice care, Monday evening, June 23, 2014, following a brief illness. Memorial services will be 1 p.m. Friday, June 27, at Blessed Hope Church in Vinton followed by a luncheon in the church fellowship hall. Private inurnment will be in Greenwalt Cemetery, rural Vinton, at a later date.

Katherine Margaret Lutz was born Feb. 20, 1923, near Cedar Falls, Iowa, the daughter of Jonathan Webster and Cecil McNeal Snyder. Her family moved to the Vinton area and she attended school in Vinton. As a teenager she picked green beans for the Green Giant Canning Factory. She also worked as an aide at Virginia Gay Hos-pital.

On June 20, 1942, she married Merlin Lutz at the Christian Church in Vinton. The couple farmed near Vinton. Katherine was a Red Cross volunteer for many years and she also was active in her church, most recently as a member of Blessed Hope Church. She was an avid quilter and made over 100 quilts that she gave to family and friends. She was an excellent pie baker and was renowned for her cookies.

She is survived by her husband of 72 years, Merlin, of Vinton; her sons, Gene (Inger) Lutz of Cedar Falls and Michael (Shelly) Lutz of Vinton; her daughter, Connie Martinez of Edwardsville, Ill.; nine grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and her sister, Berneice Good of Independence.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Clarence Snyder; sisters, Dorothy Bates and Berneita Neubauer.

A memorial fund has been established.

Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home is caring for Katherine and her family.

Condolences may be left at www.vsrfh.com.