Kathleen Louise "Bee" O'CONNOR
Obituary



Bettendorf - Funeral services and a Mass of Christian Burial for Kathleen "Bee" Dessert, of Bettendorf, will be 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 19, 2006, at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Bettendorf.

Visitation will be 4:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home, where a prayer service will be held at 7 p.m.

Burial will be in National Cemetery, Rock Island Arsenal. Kathleen passed away Saturday, April 15, 2006, at the Iowa Masonic Home in Bettendorf.
Memorials may be made to either Mt. Carmel, Sisters of the BVM Mother House, Dubuque, Iowa, or Our Lady of Lourdes Church.

Kathleen Louise O'Connor was born November 14, 1918, in Davenport, the daughter of James and Norma (Meier) O'Connor. She met her future husband, Roger Joseph Dessert, at a city dance at the Coliseum. They used to spend many Sunday afternoons dancing on the ferry which ran from Davenport to Rock Island. It cost a whole nickel for the afternoon. She was united in marriage to Roger on March 14, 1942, at St. Mary's Catholic Church, Davenport. He preceded her in death on December 14, 2001.

Kathleen lived in Ottumwa, Iowa, from 1959 until 1996. While there she served as secretary at St. Mary's Church and as president of the Altar and Rosary Society. She was a 4-H leader and was secretary for several bowling leagues. After moving to Bettendorf, Kathleen was a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Bettendorf. Kathleen's gift to the world was her gentle giving nature. She accepted everyone without judgment and with love. She was a role model for how to live graciously and was the perfect mother, family member, and friend. Along with Roger, she enjoyed traveling, bowling, dancing, visiting family, spoiling her grandchildren, and playing pinochle till all hours of the morning.

Survivors include her children and their spouses, daughters, Tonya and Donald Urbatsch, Bettendorf, Maureen Curran, Maryland Heights, Mo., Suzanne Pohl, Bettendorf, and sons, Roger and Rita Dessert, Portland, Ore., and Joe and Nina Dessert, Beaverton, Ore.; 12 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Madeleine Gaul, Bettendorf; and many special nieces, nephews, and caregivers. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, Roger, two sisters, Bernadine Maratea and Evelyn George, and a son-in-law, Bill Pohl.


Quad-City Times, Apr. 17, 2006

Learn more about the life of flag female ancestor  Kathleen Louise "Bee" O'CONNOR.

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