Kathryn Melchert, 94, of Cedar Rapids, died Saturday, July 27, 2024, at Keystone Cedars in Cedar Rapids.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 am Wednesday, July 31, 2024, at St. Luke's Catholic Church in Hopkinton. Rev. Paul Baldwin will officiate. Burial will be in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Monticello. Friends may visit from 10 am to the time of service at the church. Please use the Guestbook to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences with Kathryn's family.

Kathryn Louise Lux was born in Hopkinton, IA on December 30, 1929, to Frank and Gertrude (Mc Donough) Lux. She attended school in Hopkinton and graduated from Hopkinton High School in the Class of 1947. She married Clifford Melchert on September 14, 1949, at St. Luke's Catholic Church. He died in 2009.

Over her long career in banking, she held a variety of positions, starting as a teller and retiring in 1996 as a vice president at Farmers State Bank in Marion. She was a member of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Cedar Rapids and was active in the St. Ann's Circle.

She was a creative individual who enjoyed crafting, sewing, and gardening. She also baked cookies for the church and later for Mercy Hospice. In retirement, she would often organize gatherings for all the retired bank employees. She loved shopping and stopping at garage sales. As a child of the Great Depression, she was a hard worker and loved her family deeply.

She is survived by her daughters Norma (Chuck) Wise, Sioux Falls, SD, Kay (John) Pirtle, Billingsley, AL, and Amy (Jim) Lansing, Cedar Rapids; grandchildren Beth (Kirby) Pirtle Smith, Jake (Alyssa) Pirtle, and Lucas Pirtle, and Kayla (Jackson) Lansing Green and Jonathan Lansing; great grandchildren Lily Kate Pirtle and Wallace and Hendrix Smith, as well as by several nieces and nephews.

In addition to her husband, she was preceded in death by her parents, and siblings Ray Lux, Ralph Lux and Mary Hargrafen.

Memorials, in her honor, may be directed to Camp Courageous in Monticello.