Kathryn M DeMarce

Northview - North Mankato Mortuary
2060 Commerce Drive
North Mankato, Minnesota 56003
507-388-2288

The long and interesting life of Kathryn Marie ("Cis") DeMarce came to an end Tuesday, April 1, after a heart condition worsened. She was 89.

Until she was hospitalized the week before, she lived independently in her own Mankato townhouse.
She was born Jan. 21, 1925, in New Ulm and grew up on South Minnesota Street, where in 1934 her parents Emil and Agatha Domeier turned their tuck-under garage into a neighborhood grocery to help make ends meet in the depths of the Depression (that store still thrives as
Domeier's German Store). She graduated from St. Mary's elementary school. The instruction from the nuns and work in the store gave her strong writing and organizational skills that served her all her life. Her files were current and she relished keeping accounts. Friends and relatives often noted her graceful letter-writing writing style and a vocabulary, bolstered by a love of crossword puzzles, that belied an eighth-grade education.

To help the family she and her older sister Bernice worked as domestic help for neighbors. She also joined another of her father's businesses, the Emil Domeier Band, going out on the road playing drums and guitar at ballrooms and town halls all over southern Minnesota. At one of those jobs she met her future husband Robert, who was from Tracy. Later in life she was a faithful watcher of "The Bandwagon" polka show on KEYC-TV and would point out many New-Ulm area musicians she remembered from those days.
Kathryn and Bob were married June 4, 1946, and soon were dairying at Tracy and Walnut Grove. Then DeMarce family businesses called. They moved to Iowa to manage a bowling alley, to Illinois to manage movie theaters, and to Albert Lea to build and operate a new bowling alley.
In 1961 they moved to a farm between Mankato and Nicollet on Highway 14 and in a few years opened a large caged-layer egg factory. That operation expanded twice more to become one of the largest in the region. They consistently won production awards at industry conventions.

After selling the egg business she and Robert moved into Mankato and developed close friendships in the hilltop enclave of Viola Street. Ten years after her husband's death she moved into a new townhouse development off Parkway Place overlooking Glenwood Avenue. Deer and turkeys were frequent visitors. Many of the initial buyers there were widows like herself. They named themselves the "Noble Ladies of Parkway Place" and held monthly lunches. She remained an active member of the homeowners' association.

She was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and had a special affection for the School Sisters of Notre Dame at Good Counsel.
She is survived by two sons, Tim of St. Paul and Doug of North Mankato; two daughters-in-law, Pam DeMarce of Mankato and Colleen DeMarce of South Dennis, MA; and two grandsons, Andre DeMarce of St. Paul and Dana DeMarce of Denver; a sister, Marlene Domeier, of New Ulm; and nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband; and two sisters, Rosemary, who died in infancy, and Bernice Morris.

A visitation will be Sunday, April 6, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Northview - North Mankato Mortuary, 2060 Commerce Drive, and will continue one hour prior to the service. A funeral service will be Monday, April 7, at 11:00 a.m. at Northview - North Mankato Mortuary. Burial will be at Calvary Cemetery in Mankato.

Memorials are preferred to the School Sisters of Notre Dame and St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.