Kathleen DeCock

Kathleen Marie DeCock was born to Bill and Darlene O'Brien on December 1, 1958. She was the little sister to Steve and later became a big sister to Susan. Kathy spent her days as a child playing and helping on the farm; she rode tractor, threw hay bales and even spent some time cawing at crows from trees (something her daughters loved to tease her about years later).

When she was 17, Kathy met her match at the local roller rink. Wayne asked her out to Hardees, but she eluded him, playing a little hard to get. Eventually, she took him up on the offer, and the two were married in June of 1978. Kathy and Wayne were best friends and adored one another; she looked forward to celebrating 50-plus years of marriage someday.

After graduating from Jefferson Senior High School in 1976, Kathy attended Alexandria Technical College for the Medical Laboratory Technician program. She truly enjoyed her job as a lab technician at Broadway Medical Center (Sanford), where she worked for over 30 years. She loved the people she encountered and the challenge of the job itself; she was one of the best blood drawers this side of the Mississippi.

Kathy was the proud mother of four children: Joshua, Jacob, Megan and Jennifer. She encouraged fort building, fresh air, lawn games, and dancing in the kitchen. Her greatest joy in life, however, was being grandma to 12 (soon to be 14!) beautiful grandchildren. Grandma Kathy always had a game to play, a project to make or a treat to concoct. You could always find her creating obstacle courses and scavenger hunts, playing on the floor, coloring pictures, playing games, or doing just about anything with those grandchildren. They absolutely adored her... no one could compare.

Kathy remained faith-filled as she battled a short, courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. She passed away with family nearby, in her home, on the evening of January 18.

Without her here, the world will be missing some beautiful flower gardens, the best homemade cookies, countless lawn game matches, the best Goodwill treasure hunter, and one of the kindest souls. She gracefully lived the beautitudes not by going overseas, but by caring for the young and old in her life without expectation and only a smile on her face. She leaves behind a beautiful legacy: one of kindness, love, grace, patience and strength. She leaves an imprint and reminds us all that it’s always better set the table for one more than one less, and to keep on dancing in the kitchen -- even when you don't feel like it.

Kathy’s legacy is carried on by her husband of 40 years, Wayne; four children, Joshua (Tracy) DeCock of Moorhead; Jacob (Desiree Johnson) DeCock of Fargo; Megan (Andrew) Bristow of Nelson; Jennifer (Theodore) Kohorst of Fergus Falls; 14 grandchildren; her parents, Bill and Darlene O’Brien of Nelson; siblings, Steven (Rosemary) O’Brien of Nelson and Susan (Richard) Silvers of Richmond. She also leaves behind many aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and in-laws.

Kathy was preceded in death by her grandparents, aunts, an uncle and seven grandchildren lost to miscarriage.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Wednesday, January 23, 2019 at 11 AM at the Church of St. Mary in Alexandria.

A visitation will be held on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 from 4-7 PM with a Parish Prayer Service beginning at 4 PM at the Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria and also for one hour prior to the mass on Wednesday at the church.

Interment will be in St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery