Kathleen Kay Deitchler
September 5, 1949 - December 29, 2020

Kathy Deitchler, 71, passed away on December 29, 2020. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 31, 2020 at the Loess Hills Funeral Home in Glenwood, IA. Private family burial will be in the Mineola Cemetery. Loess Hills Funeral Home in Glenwood is caring for Kathy and her family.

Memorials: the family will direct memorials


Kathleen Kay (Osborne) Deitchler was born September 5, 1949, at Offutt Air Field to parents, Jack E. Osborne and Iris June (Adkins) Osborne. Her family lived in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Kathy attended Rue Elementary. Her family moved to Treynor, Iowa in 1961. Kathy was confirmed at St. Paul Lutheran Church. She enjoyed singing and was part of both the church and school choirs all through high school. She participated in school plays, once even having the lead role. She was a cheerleader, she babysat, and she volunteered at the Teen Center in Treynor. Kathy graduated from Treynor High School in 1967 and attended Stewart's School of Hairstyling, and then styled hair at a couple of Omaha's top hair salons.
Kathy married Randy Deitchler, whom she began dating in their senior year of high school, on July 1, 1972. They lived in Omaha for 6 months and then lived in Mineola, Iowa for five years. Daughter Andrea was born in 1973, and son Aaron was born in 1974 (13 months apart). During this time, Kathy fixed hair part time and Ralph and Frances Koch babysat the kids and became dear friends. In 1979, Kathy and Randy bought the acreage and Kathy quit fixing hair so she could spend her time with her family on the farm and work on renovating the farmhouse.
On the farm, Randy and Kathy kept sows, with Randy later bringing home 10 old ewes from his job at the Omaha Stockyards that grew into a large sheep operation of 225 breeding ewes. Kathy fell in love with the sheep, saying "I just like to watch healthy lambs running, jumping, and playing". Kathy went to bed early so she could get up during the night to take care of the ewes and the birthing of the lambs. She did lots of research on how to make the ewes reproduce out of season so they could maximize their yield. In 1984, Kathy and Randy received the Master Lamb Producers Award of Iowa. Kathy was featured in the Daily Nonpareil, the Treynor newspaper, Shepherd Magazine, the Omaha World Herald, and Iowa Farmer Daily, all of which showed their amazement that a city girl that swore she would "never marry a farmer or live on a gravel road" was able to lead such a successful operation. In the 90s, Kathy and Randy began decreasing the size of their lambing operation. Kathy needed something new and developed an interest in floral design. The lambing business ended in 2000.
Kathy and Randy moved off the farm to a new home that Kathy designed, and her son Aaron built in 2003.
Kathy excelled at everything she developed an interest in. Kathy was a talented baker. She baked for many bake sales and was also a great cook. She would sell her baked goods at annual bake sales, craft fairs, and on Saturday mornings at the Mineola restaurant. She was known for her apple pies, honey oat and rye bread, and potato salad, and for the fact that she never used recipes, making it impossible for anyone to make something as good as her. She taught herself floral design, and met many good friends working at Ray Gain Florist in Omaha and Corum's in Council Bluffs. She helped design booths at St. Cecilia's Annual Flower Festival. She arranged all of the flowers for daughter Andrea's wedding, along with many special family events. Kathy also worked for a catering business.
Of all of her accomplishments, nothing compares to the day that Kathy accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior (September 5, 1977). Kathy had a deep desire to study God's Word and Kathy attended and led bible studies for many years. Kathy shared God's love to many, and she and Randy ran weekly church services at Glen Haven Nursing Home in Glenwood, Iowa for 30 years.
Kathy loved planning trips and wanted her family to have a good time. She enjoyed going on vacations, big and small. Some of which included a Bahama cruise, trips to California to visit family, and many road trips. The grandkids were such a joy to Kathy and she loved taking mini vacations with them to different hotels and cabins, always packing way more food and treats than necessary.
Kathy loved her family very much. She was always available, an excellent listener and friend that will be greatly missed.
Kathy passed away on December 29, 2020. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Iris (Adkins) Osborne; and sister, Connie Finnell.
Kathy is survived by her beloved husband Randall Irwin Deitchler; daughter Andrea Zielstra and her husband Kevin Zielstra and their children, Zachary and Audrey Zielstra; son Aaron Deitchler and his wife Kathy J. Deitchler and their children, Myranda Deitchler and Creighton Deitchler.

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