Katherine "Kathy" Hawthorne

  Katherine “Kathy” Ann Hawthorne, 70, of Streator, IL, passed away on Tuesday, September 6, 2022, at her residence surrounded by her family.

 Visitation will be held on Saturday, September 10, 2022, from 1:00pm-4:00pm at Grace Community Church in Streator, IL, with a service to follow outdoors at 4:00pm. Pastor Chuck Giacinto will officiate.

  Kathy was born on January 25, 1952, in Streator, IL, to Harold and Irene (Elias) Reihl.  She married Rex Hawthorne on June 1, 1979.  She is survived by her husband and two sons, Lucas (Amber) Hawthorne of Streator, IL, and Andrew (Michelle) Hawthorne of Jacksonville, FL.  She is also survived by her beloved stepchildren, Lisa (Eddie) Volz of San Antonio, TX and Lee Hawthorne of Palmer, TX.  Kathy was a wonderful grandma or “Baba” to her ten grandchildren, and 7 great-grand-children.  Kathy is also survived by her two loving sisters, Mary Jo Weber (Pete Johnson) of Orion, IL, and Karen (Rich) Perjak of Streator, IL as well as numerous nephews and nieces.  Kathy was preceded in death by her parents and brother, Harold “Chip” Reihl.

  Kathy graduated from Streator High School and continued her education by graduating from IVCC and Kingsway Bible College.  Kathy and Rex met while working at Thatcher Glass and he was smitten at first sight.  She devoted her life to serving others and her family.  As a teacher and principal of Rhema Christian Academy, she was blessed to have lived a life following her passion of teaching and mentoring children.  After graduating from Kingsway Bible College, Rev. Kathy became an ordained minister and Pastor over the Youth Ministries at Grace Community Church.  Kathy was very involved in her local community as she was a prior board member for Streator Community Credit Union, a prior board member for the YMCA, a member of Live Well Streator, and a member of Streator Leading Ladies.  She was also a passionate and zealous leader for Celebrate Recovery as she had a delicate talent of listening to others with compassionate grace.

  Kathy lived her life to the fullest and enjoyed always being present in the moment.  She loved dipping her toes in the ocean and spent a lot of time in Florida and California visiting her family.  Kathy was enthusiastic to see new places and traveled to Key West, Poland, Israel, and Hawaii, to name a few.  She was always on board for trying something new whether it was a Zumba class in a foreign city, eating an exotic new meal, or a skydiving adventure. Her infectious laughter, a constant tune of children’s music, and great storytelling ability will live forever in our hearts and be remembered in our thoughts.

  In lieu of flowers, memorials in her name may be made to Grace Community Church. The Solon-Telford funeral home, Streator is in charge of arrangements.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Katherine "Kathy" Hawthorne, please visit our floral store.