Catherine 'Katie' J. LaVelle

Catherine Jean "Katie" LaVelle, 99, of Sioux City died Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013, at a Sioux City nursing home.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Michael’s Catholic Church. The Rev. David Hemann will officiate. Burial will be in St. Joseph Cemetery, Struble, Iowa. Visitation will be 9:30 a.m. until service time Thursday at the church. Arrangements are under the direction of Larkin Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home.
Katie was born on May 31, 1914, in Washington Township in Sioux County, Iowa, the daughter of James E. and Johanna (Downs) O’Meara. She was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic faith at St. Mary Church in Hawarden. She attended St. Mary’s Academy in Alton, Iowa, and graduated from Hawarden High School. She graduated from Mankato State University with a bachelor of science degree in education. She was certified as a reading consultant for the state of Minnesota by the University of Minnesota at the graduate level. She was member of the New Ulm Public School faculty for many years.
Katie married Edmund LaVelle in Hawarden in 1939. They lived their married life in St. James, Minn. They were dedicated foster parents to abandoned and neglected children for many years. Edmund died in 1980. After his death, she moved to Sioux City where she was a longtime member of St. Michael Catholic Church, the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and a charter member of the Queen of Peace. She sang in the Siouxland Senior Chorus and the Jolly Timers. Katie enjoyed playing bridge and doing needle crafts.
She is survived by her son, Steven LaVelle of Burnsville, Minn.; two grandchildren, Dr. Michael (Wendy) Adamowicz, and Jennifer (Carlos) Chillon; six great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephew.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her son, Daniel; her daughter, Linda Adamowicz; and her brother and sisters.