Catherine M. Abata

Catherine Marie (Lundby) Abata, known to friends as ‘Kay’, passed away peacefully at Bella Vista Golden Living Center in Rapid City, South Dakota on Sunday, January 20, 2019.  She was 99 years old.  Catherine was born on September 25, 1919 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.  She communicated with her mother and father, Marie and Olaf, with sign language as they were both deaf from childhood.  She was one of five sisters and one brother of the Lundby family:  Rose Dean (deceased), Olga Caracciolo (deceased), Melvin Lundby (deceased in childhood), Hazel Graham (Dallas, Texas), and Dorothy Watts (Kenosha, Wisconsin).   She was married in 1942 for 63 years to Joseph Abata who passed away in 2005.  She resided in Kenosha, WI for a good portion of her adult life, then later moved to Green Valley, AZ, and finally to Rapid City, SD.  She is lovingly remembered by two sons, Duane (Rapid City, SD) and Douglas (Los Cruzes, NM), four grandchildren, three step-grandchildren, and twelve great grandchildren.  She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Rapid City.  She will rest in Stambaugh Cemetery in Iron River, Michigan with her husband Joseph and her daughter Elaine.  She lived a long and full life.  She leaves a lasting legacy and her passing marks a generation that witnessed the Great Depression, a World War, the rise and fall of American Motors, the Space Race, the advent of computer technology, and the Internet.  She was a wonderful mother and companion.  We will miss her dearly. Services will be held at her burial in Michigan in early May.  Arrangements are being made by Kirk Funeral Home in Rapid City, SD, and Jacob Funeral Home in Iron River, MI.  Memorial donations in memory of Kay may be made to Trinity Lutheran Church, 402 Kansas City St, Rapid City, SD 57701. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Catherine M. Abata, please visit our flower store.