Notes for Katherine Dorothy SCHAFF

Notes for Katherine Dorothy SCHAFF

SOURCE: Bob Whitman Gig Harbor WA. 1986) Newspaper Obit.
RESIDENCE: Gig Harbor WA. (1990)

Katherine Dorothy Schaff was born Feb 28, 1916 in Lead to John Joseph Schaff and Bertha (Holdren) Schaff. Both John J. and Bertha Schaff were life long residents of the Sturgis area, Bertha was born in Vale SD. to Wills David Holdren and Catherine (Tena) (Holst) Holdren, Both W.D. and Tena were early ho,e steaders in the Vale area of Butte Co, SD. They are buried in the old Beale cemetery near Vale, as are Tena's parents Johann and Christine (Staack) Holst. Both John J. and Bertha Holdren are buried in the Bear Butte cemetery in Sturgis. John J. parents (John Charles Schaff and Catherine (Steichen) Schaff are buried in the Catholic cemetery in Sturgis.

Harold Walter Whitman and Katherine Dorothy Schaff were married 9 Nov 1940 in Casper Wyoming. Harold was in the National Guard and was called to active duty when World War II began. He served as a PFC in North Africa and also in England and Ireland. Katherine was a School Teacher in South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming prior to her marriage and while Harold was in the service. Harold was discharged from the Army in 1945 at Ft. Lewis near Tacoma, WA. he settled in the area on an 80 acre farm near Gig Harbor. He worked at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton as a welder and later as a Scheduler and Analyst. After retiring from the shipyard he worked part time on a motor route delivering the Tacoma News Tribune in Mason County, he died at his home in Gig Harbor on 12 Aug, 1976.

written by Robert P. Whitman; Gig Harbor, Washington (1987)

NEWSPAPER OBIT: Black Hills Press dated 7 Jul 1990

Katherine Dorothy Whitman, 74, a longtime Peninsula resident died June 25, 1990, in Seattle, Wash. She was born Feb. 28, 1916, in Lead to John and Bertha Schaff. She received her teaching certificate from Black Hills Teachers College, Spearfish, and taught rural schools in Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming prior to World War II. She married Harold Whitman Nov. 9, 1940, in Casper Wyo. She has resided as a homemaker in the Minter Creek area since 1952. She is survived by three sons, James Whitman of El Paso, Texas, and John Whitman and Robert Whitman, both of Gig Harbor, Wash.; a brother, Jack Schaff of Salt Lake City, Utah; a sister Barbara Duprel of San Jose, Calif.; and seven grandchildren. Private cremation is under the direction of Bletz Funeral Home Seattle.