KATHRYN ANSTEY, 85

Kathryn “Kathy” Yvonne Anstey, 85, of Mesa, AZ, passed away peacefully on Jan. 24, 2025, surrounded by her loving family after a courageous battle with cancer.
Born on December 28, 1939, in Red Oak, to the late Raymond and Vernice Pearson, Kathy graduated in 1961 with a nursing degree from The Immanuel Deaconess School of Nursing in Omaha, Neb., and worked in the nursing field as a registered nurse caring for others. Kathy devoted her life to her loving family, visiting with her four children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and enjoyed spending time baking, gardening, sewing, and knitting.
Raised on a farm, Kathy developed a love at an early age for animals and reminisced about rescuing caterpillars, turtles, stray cats, bottle feeding orphaned piglets, and attending her children’s 4-H fairs and horse shows. She could be found in the kitchen making carrot ginger soup and baking her dad’s Swedish rye bread, lemon bars and Italian wedding cake and would make the family tradition Swedish bologna and cookies with her sister. She loved gardening and flowers of all kinds, especially hydrangeas, peonies, and amaryllis. A woman of remarkable talent, Kathy created the most exquisite wedding gowns for each of her daughters to cherish and would often be seen carrying a bag of yarn around knitting sweaters for both human and dogs alike.
Her beautiful spirit, kindness, generosity, and inner strength allowed her to navigate significant life changes and health challenges with grace, patience, and courage. Kathy’s love and light will continue to shine in the hearts of those who knew her.
Kathy lived at Fellowship Square in Mesa, Ariz., where she cherished time with her beloved cat, Lily, and enjoyed playing cards, Mahjong, Scrabble, and sharing stories with close and lifelong friends. She was married to the late George Anstey and was previously married to Dave Nilssen.
Kathy is survived by her four children, Jeff (Carmelia) Nilssen of Sparta, Wis.; Terri (Paul) Loree of Stone Lake, Wis.; Amy (Tim) Howe of Spring Valley, Wis.; and Sarah (Curt) Blik of Scottsdale, Ariz. She is also survived by her eight grandchildren, Courtney (Eric) Peterson, Bailey Nilssen, Brandon (Tk) Loree, Nicole Samudio, Kali Braun, Jacob Howe, Kathryn Blik, and Abbey Blik; as well as eight great-grandchildren, Adalyn Peterson, Parker Peterson, Liam Goodman, Makenna Goodman, Emerson Samudio, Laiken Samudio, Veda Samudio, and Clara Braun. Kathy is also survived by her sister, Dianne Rosenthal of Omaha, Neb., her niece, Rebecca Kratky, nephews, Eric Carlson and Aaron Carlson, and many beloved cousins.
A celebration of Kathy’s life will be held at Fellowship Square in Mesa, Ariz., on April 4, 2025, at 11 a.m., and in Red Oak at Fremont Lutheran Church at Nyman on May 10, 2025, at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Kathy’s memory may be made to the Humane Society, American Diabetes Association or American Cancer Society in her honor.