Catherine Ann Waldschmidt

Catherine Ann Waldschmidt, 68, of Dowagiac, passed away peacefully, while surrounded by family, on Friday, April 9, 2021 in Dowagiac after her brave, 30-year battle with lupus. The family will receive guests from 4pm until time of Celebration of Life at 6pm, Thursday, April 15, 2021 at Clark Chapel, 405 Center St., Dowagiac. Memorial contributions may be given to the Lupus Foundation of America, www.lupus.org. Those wishing to leave an online condolence for the family may do so at www.clarkch.com. Cathy was born February 7, 1953 in St. Joseph to Gilbert and Elsie (Weckwerth) Rantz. She grew up on her parents’ fruit farm in Watervliet with her two younger sisters and attended St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and participated in 4-H, band, hand bells and baton twirling. After attending Lake Michigan College, Cathy worked for many years as a customer service representative at Old Kent/Fifth-Third Bank where she made many lifelong friends of co-workers and customers. On August 31, 1998, she married Michael Waldschmidt in Las Vegas. Cathy loved everything Disney, reading, hunting for morel mushrooms, taking gator rides around their property in Dowagiac, traveling, being with family and watching Nascar – a pastime she inherited from her father. Her church family was very important to her, but more than anything, she loved her family, especially her grandchildren, and her beloved dogs. Cathy lived for the holidays and gatherings with her family. Cathy is survived, and dearly loved and missed, by her husband of 22 years, Michael Waldschmidt; her children: David Hagemann Jr. (Diatra Baker), and Colleen (Jarrid) Bradford; her stepdaughters: Stephanie (Shannon) Harrington, and Samantha (Harold) Maynard; her grandchildren: Jordan McConnell, Rowan and Jenna Bradford, Shannon Jr., Conner, and Kayden Harrington, and Heaven, Raymond, Kenneth, Mason, Zelda, and Mia Maynard; her mother, Elsie Rantz; her sister, Jane (Joseph) Martin; and Sara Martin and Joseph Martin, Jr., among many other nieces and nephews and family. She is preceded in death by her sister, Judy Rantz and her father, Gilbert Rantz.