Cathy Jean Stephens, age 61, of Oregon, WI passed away on Saturday October 24, 2020 at her residence surrounded by her beloved family. She was born on March 25, 1959 in Lancaster, the daughter of John and Darlene (McCluskey) Vogt. Cathy was united in marriage to Milton Stephens on February 4, 1984 in Fennimore.
Cathy worked as a young girl in the bookkeeping department at the family business Koschkee Transfer in Fennimore. Moving to Madison in 1984 and then Oregon in 1985, Cathy worked at Watts Landscaping as a secretary until opening her home to her passion in life; taking care of children. She operated her daycare service out of her home in Oregon for 23 years. As the years have gone by, Cathy kept in touch with many of the children that she watched; she truly bonded with her kids. For the past several years, she was employed at Bill’s Food Center in Oregon and loved being the friendly face happy to assist customers. Cathy unfortunately had to retire due to her ongoing battle with cancer. Her dream was to go back to work at Bill’s and she always told people she could not have had a better employer.
Her pride and joy in life was her family and especially her grandchildren. They were her strength through her three-year battle with cancer. Being together as a family along with the precious smiles of her grandchildren brought much needed joy to Cathy each and everyday. She also enjoyed doing crafts, crocheting, crossword puzzles and playing Bunco. She was a people person with a positive attitude who many turned to for advice or just needed someone to talk to. Cathy loved to be there for others and her passion for life will be deeply missed.
Cathy is survived by her husband Milt of Oregon, two sons; Kyle (Kara) Stephens of Belleville, and Trevor Stephens of Oregon, two grandchildren; Owen and Allie Stephens, parents John and Darlene Vogt of Fennimore, two sisters; Judy (Steve) Peterson of Fennimore, Cindy (Ron) Peterson of Oregon, brother Tim (Nicole) Vogt of Fennimore, father and mother-in-law Clinton and Millie Stephens of Fennimore, brother-in-law Kim (Vicki) Stephens of Austin, TX, and sister-in-law Suzanne (Mike Koch) Stephens of Boise, ID along with numerous special nieces and nephews.
Cathy was preceded in death by her infant daughter Kayla, a very special grandmother Cleo Reithmeyer, nephew Cody Peterson, mother-in-law Doreen Stephens, brother-in-law Steve Stephens.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a private funeral service for family and relatives will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday Oct. 28, 2020 at the Larson Family Funeral Home in Fennimore with burial to follow in the Prairie Cemetery rural Fennimore. Visitation for family will be held from 10:00 A.M. until the time of service at the funeral home on Wednesday morning. A “Celebration of Life” will be held at a later date. Cards of sympathy may be sent to the funeral home at 925 10th St. Fennimore, WI 53809.