Kathleen J. Theige

Kathleen “Kathy” J. Theige, 91, of Iola, Wisconsin, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.

She was born on Feb. 20, 1935, the eldest of three children to the late Gerhard and Mary (Oberkirsch) Anderson of Nelsonville, Wisconsin.

She graduated from Amherst High School in 1952 and from Luther College in 1956. Kathy married Thomas Theige on Dec. 28, 1957, in Nelsonville. She started teaching kindergarten in Port Edwards, Wisconsin, in 1956 and later in Richfield, Minnesota.

In 1973, she and her family moved to Iola. Kathy began working as a 4th-grade teacher in Rosholt, Wisconsin, in 1976, and retired in 1996. She taught Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and Confirmation class, while also singing in the choir at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

Kathy was an avid reader and enjoyed writing poems, oil painting landscapes, music, gardening, and traveling. She loved spending time with family and friends at Rolling Stone Lake.

She will be remembered as a sweet, loving, and generous wife, mother, daughter, grandma, and great-grandma. As Kathy enjoyed writing, her family took comfort in her own words from a little excerpt called AFTERGLOW: “I’d like the memory of me to be a happy one. I’d like to leave an afterglow of smiles when life is gone.”

She is survived by one son, Jeffery Theige, two daughters, Julie Dillon, Jill (Dave) Bukowski; six grandchildren, Ivar (Laura Johnson) Dillon, Nils (Lindsey) Dillon, Elise Dillon, Emily Bukowski, Michael Bukowski, and Jesse Carver; great-grandchildren, Maxwell Dillon, Beckham Dillon, Harlen Dillon, Avery Johnson, and Nova Johnson; one brother, Gary (Elaine) Anderson; one sister, Karen (Dennis) Koehler; nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas Theige; two sisters-in-law, Marjorie (Eldred) Manske and Sue (Ron) Bjerke; and father and mother-in-law, Hjalmar and Margaret Theige.

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, July 2, at 11 a.m. at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Iola with the Rev. Gail Kenny officiating. Visitation will be held on Thursday at the church from 9:30-10:45 a.m. Interment will be in the South New Hope Lutheran Cemetery in the Town of New Hope.

Memorials can be sent to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church of Iola or a memorial of your choice in memory of Kathy.