Obituary: Kathryn Joy Crotteau

Kathryn Joy Crotteau, 72, of Hermantown and formerly of Cloquet, passed away Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at Essentia St. Mary’s Medical Center.

From the day she was born until the day she left this earth, Kathy was a ball of energy and faced life’s challenges with a combination of grit, determination and humor that can only be described as her “Kathy-ness.” But above all, she was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister and friend. She will be remembered for her beaming smile, her warm embraces, her love of people, and her generous, caring spirit. We will miss the seemingly endless games of cards and Yahtzee — hearing her gloat when she won and grouse when she did not. And we will never forget hearing her sing as she entered the room, “Here I come to save the day! Mighty Kathy is on the way!”

Kathy was preceded in death by her husband, James Crotteau; her parents, Arthur and Helen Petersen; her brothers Tim Petersen and Scott Petersen; and her sister and brother-in-law, Lori and Walter Alaspa. She is survived by her children, Jon (Anne) Crotteau of Watertown, Minnesota and Julie (Ken) Ball of Defiance, Missouri; grandchildren, Alex, Evan, Owen, Charlotte, Lyric and Taryn; brothers Mark (Elizabeth) Petersen of Cotton, Kurt Petersen of Cloquet and Chris (Tammy) Petersen of Lakewood, Colorado; and many friends and family members.

The family wishes to thank Melissa Koval and the staff at Duluth Regional Care Center for their years of dedicated service and care for Kathy and especially to Crystal Naehrig and Ally Ewest for being Kathy’s loving caregivers, friends, and confidants.

Visitation: 10 a.m. until the 11 a.m. memorial service Saturday, June 3 at Nelson Funeral Care in Cloquet. A luncheon will follow the service, with inurnment held at Maple Grove Cemetery in Cloquet. Arrangements are entrusted to Nelson Funeral Care of Cloquet. To sign an online registry please visit http://www.nelsonfuneralcare.net.

In lieu of memorials, the family requests donations be made to North Country RIDE, 180 Hatinen Road, Esko MN 55733, http://www.ncride.org.