Kathleen Skora
Kathleen Helen Skora (née Craver), 85, Greenwood, Wis., died Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. She shared the company of many friends and family just prior to her passing.
Born on Wednesday, May 5, 1937, in Chicago, Ill., she was the daughter of the late Frances Helen (Novak) and the late Arthur Wilson Craver.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 38 years, Adam John Skora, son of the late Peter Skora and the late Mary (Stawarz).
Kathleen Helen is survived by 10 children, Ann (David) Schuh, Patrick (Marcela), Joseph (Lourdes), Frances, Jackie, Arthur, Susan (Joel) Richards, William (Kyle), Amelia (Kenneth) La Casse and David (Brenda); one sister, Marjorie (Robert) Otto; 12 grandchildren, Alexandra, Sabrina (Ian) Plamondon, Nicole (Tomas) Icenogle, Jonathan, Adam, Savannah, Anjolina, Hannah and Daphne; and one great-granddaughter, Lillian.
Kathleen Helen was preceded in death by two sons, Stanley and James; and two brothers, Arthur and George.
Kathleen enjoyed arts and crafts. She had a talent for drawing and painting, and also knit, crocheted and created ceramic ware. Kathleen baked tasty desserts, especially Christmas cookies, fruitcake and candies. She always cultivated a large garden; partly because of necessity, and partly because she enjoyed it. She enjoyed music by Elvis Presley. Kathleen collected dolls and Elvis memorabilia.
Kathleen enjoyed outdoor farm auctions and garage sales. Some of her favorite TV shows included Storage Wars, American Pickers, Toy Hunter, Core Pawn, Hoarders, Worst Tenants and Jessie Ventura.
Kathleen held a variety of jobs. She said, “At 12, I had the usual babysitting jobs and then worked (cleaning) at Zwissler Bakery on Saturdays. I was the only one small enough to crawl in the display cases to clean the inside. The owners of the bakery were very nice people of German descent.” Occasionally they would slip in an extra $10 and save some bread and coffee cake for Kathleen’s family. Kathleen also donated some time working for the nuns in the church. In addition to all this, she later worked as a nurse’s aide and at a grocery store/restaurant for truck drivers.
Furthermore, Kathleen worked at the Atlantic India Rubber Company (rubber grommet factory) during the Christmas season (two months) doing administrative jobs. When she married Adam, she was working for First Distributors Inc. (discount retailer) as a switchboard operator, but had to quit (corporate policy) because that’s where Adam was working. She then went to work as a switchboard operator at RCA. Additionally, Kathleen had experience in farming and owned and operated her own ice cream parlor/restaurant for about eight years. Furthermore, she summarized TV programs for later radio broadcasts and internet postings. Kathleen’s most important and lasting job was raising her 11 children.
A celebration of Kathleen’s life will be held at a later date this year, yet to be determined.
PAID OBITUARY 132632
