Kathryn C. Buchtrup Obituary
An internment service will include immediate family members and will be held at the Portage South Cemetery. Visitation with family will be on Friday, May 9, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Michael Lutheran Church with a worship service to follow at 11:00 a.m. There will be a light luncheon at the church to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family would direct all memorials in Kathryn's name to St. Michael Lutheran Church, 7211 Oakland Drive, Portage, Michigan.
Kathryn was born May 1, 1931, in Kent City, Michigan, the daughter of George and Louise (nee Reister) Baehre. She was received into God's family through baptism on May 31, 1931, and confirmed in the faith on April 2, 1944, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Conklin, Michigan. She, along with two sisters, Charlotte and Wilmine, and brother, Frederick, were raised on their parents' farm and she shared with her siblings the chores and duties of farm life.
After graduating from Sparta High School in Sparta, Michigan, Kathryn attended Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. She then moved to Chicago, Illinois, where she met and married the love of her life, her husband of 72 years, Charles "Chuck" Buchtrup, on August 25, 1951. During their marriage they were blessed with five children, including Janet, John, Daniel, Stephen and Mark.
Kathryn was a loving and caring wife and mother who, with her husband, brought up their children in the Christian faith as early on as their children's ears could hear words. The two made sure that their children heard the Word each Sunday at church and by way of daily devotions at home. They also strongly influenced the lives of their daughters-in-law and grandchildren, always referring them, along with their children back to the teachings of Christ, their Savior, when matters of life confronted them. Outside of the home, Kathryn was always involved with some type of church work, serving on committees, visiting and writing to ill members, and singing alto in the choir.
Kathryn enjoyed her home life, was an immaculate housekeeper, and a wonderful co-provider for the household. After the children were grown, she worked as a cashier at Meijer on Westnedge Avenue for 23 years, from where she retired in 1996. She loved her co-workers there and made many good memories while at Meijer. She loved meeting people, including her regular customers, and sharing many interactions with them. After retirement, she and Chuck packed up their household and moved to a beautiful home and community in Fairfield Glade, Tennessee. She could not stop working and had to keep busy, so she worked as a pharmacy technician for Kroger until her retirement in 2007. After that, she began volunteering at Cumberland Medical Center, where she spent several years as a cashier in the gift shop. When not working or volunteering, she spent many hours/days singing—at church—and in the Cumberland Community Chorus. Her alto voice was a needed addition to the choir. Looking back to the 1950's, she also sang in the Kalamazoo Bach Festival, now called the Kalamazoo Community Chorus.
Kathryn was preceded in death by her husband, Chuck, who died in July 2023. Before that, she was preceded in death y her beloved daughter, her first born and only daughter, Janet, in 1982. Kathryn lost many precious relatives in her life, outliving all her siblings, all for whom she mourned often, but was relieved to know they were with the Lord. She was also preceded in death by her sister, Charlotte Bradford of Sparta, Michigan, brother Frederick Baehre and his wife Kathleen of Kent City, Michigan, and sister Wilmine Burmeister and her husband William of Pulaski, Wisconsin. Also preceding her in death was a nephew, James Bradford, niece Kathleen Patterson and her husband Jim, and sisters-in-law, Dorothy Kalinak, Eloise Holstrom, and Eloise's husband Richard. Kathryn is survived by her children, including John (and Ailene) Buchtrup of Augusta, Michigan, their children Erin Buchtrup and Adrienne (Buchtrup) with husband Joshua Deshazer, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Daniel (and Susan) Buchtrup of Kalamazoo, Michigan, Stephen (and Julia) Buchtrup, and their children Matthew Buchtrup (with fiancée Emma), and Meaghan Buchtrup, all of Woodstock, Georgia, and Mark (and special friend Tiffany) and his son Benjamin of Lansing, Michigan. Kathryn prayed for all her surviving children and grandchildren every night.
Kathryn was also survived by numerous nieces and nephews, the children of her beloved siblings and husband's siblings, all for whom she prayed regularly, as if they were her own. She had love enough for all of them! Kathryn and Chuck had many friends, both in Kalamazoo and in Fairfield Glade, in fact, wherever they went. They loved spending time with and participating in worship services with them. They often entertained friends in their home, sharing mutual care and fellowship with them, and even included them in their prayers when needed.
It is most fitting that Kathryn went to be with the Lord on Easter Sunday, 4/20/2025, after hearing her final Easter Service on her hospital bed, streamed on the St. Michael Lutheran Church website. (She always said she never missed an Easter Sunday worship service in her life, and that day was no exception.). She laid listening to all the Easter songs she sang in church from childhood until her final days. She would have it no other way than to depart this world on Easter….and neither would the Lord. He has taken her to her heavenly home, risen along with Himself, where she will find peace and comfort in His arms, as well in the arms of all her many loved ones who join her in heaven.
