Katherine E. (Heppe) Kenter

Katherine Elizabeth Kenter (nee Heppe) died in her home in Orleans, Michigan on March 15, 2020 at the age of 88. 
 

Katherine is survived by her two children, Diane (Chuck) Helmholdt and Wayne (Sylvia) Kenter; two grandchildren, Nicholas (Ashley) and Anthony (Mary Kate); two great-grandchildren, Rowan and Bradley; and brother and sisters-in-law, Ivan and Lorraine Kenter, Myrtle Schmidt, Lucille Heppe, and Gertrude Heppe. She is preceded in death by her husband, Stephen; her brothers, Vernon, Adam, Harvey, Robert; and her sister, Mildred. 
 

She was born on January 29, 1932 in Orleans, Michigan to Henry and Elizabeth Heppe. She grew up on a farm and loved animals. She graduated from Ionia High School in 1950. Katherine married Stephen Kenter the following year in 1951. She worked at the Ionia Sentinel Standard until the birth of her daughter. 
 

Katherine and Steve enjoyed travel and made road trips to California, Alaska, and visited many national parks. She raised butterflies and cultivated a flower garden. Katherine was skilled at sewing, knitting, crochet, embroidery, and needlepoint. Her children and grandchildren remember her as a kind and caring mother. 
 

A graveside service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2020 at Highland Park Cemetery, Ionia with Pastor Kenneth Harger, presiding. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Ionia Commission on Aging, 115 Hudson Street, Ionia, MI 48846. Arrangements are entrusted to Lehman Funeral Homes. Online condolences may be made at www.lehmanfuneralhomes.com.

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