Date of Birth:
Friday, July 6, 1951
Date of Death:
Friday, December 27, 2024
Age:
73 years old

Kathryn M. Carroll

Kathy passed away in the early morning of December 27th.

Kathy was born July 6th, 1951, and was the daughter of John & Agnes Mulligan. Kathy had one sister, Mary (Richard) Samberg of Springfield, MA and one brother Mike Mulligan of Lakewood, WA. She is preceded in death by the love of her life Mike and both her parents.

Kathy & her husband Mike were married on June 24th, 1972, in Jackson, Minnesota and they were blessed with three children and five grandchildren. John-Howard (Carrie) Carroll, Chase, Henry & Julia of Rochester; Fae (Cody) Seil, Cole & Connor of Sioux City, IA; and Tim (Cameron Rolle) Carroll of Salmon, ID.

Kathy grew up in the rural community of Jackson, MN during the 1950’s and 60’s in a loving family that raised her on values like honesty, hard work, faith and love. She often would reminisce about helping out family and friends at a young age with farm chores such as picking rock and working at Mulligan Tire Service as she grew older. She loved to share memories of picking veggies in the garden with her dad and long hours canning in the basement with her mom when she was little. Kathy graduated from Jackson High School in 1969 and ventured out of Minnesota for a brief stint at Eastern Michigan University before returning to the University of Minnesota and finally attending RCC in Rochester. She graduated with her associate’s degree in nursing and ended up meeting the love of her life, Mike. She often spoke of the challenges of nursing during the 70’s and shared fond memories of the residents of the nursing homes she worked at early in her career. She later became a nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester while she and Mike enjoyed the rest of the glorious 70’s and filled it with adventure.

In the mid-1970s Mike and Kathy took ownership of the Bacchus bar in Rochester as well as Benny’s root beer stand in the downtown area, where they both cooked, bartended, and ran both operations. They operated both establishments until the early 1980s serving their famous “Mexi” sandwiches, a secret recipe that Kathy guarded fiercely and never shared. She was always happy to make it for you though and was always whipping up big batches of it for friends and family year after year.

In 1982, she and Mike started a family with the birth of their first son John-Howard and welcomed Fae and then Tim in each of the next two years. She left her nursing career to be closer to her family and took over the childcare business that Mike had started a few years earlier. She ran the daycare out of her and Mike’s home until her retirement in June of 2021.

Kathy dedicated her life to the families and children that she cared for over 40+ years and left an unforgettable imprint on all who walked through the door. Some families had multiple generations of children who Kathy cared for at the house on 8th ave. Many of whom were still part of her daily life and whose progress she continued to follow with love and support long after they grew up.

From the 1980’s on, she supported Mike by attending hundreds of Lourdes High School football, baseball, and basketball games where he was coaching, which later turned into thousands of games when the 3 kids started playing sports and doing school activities as well. She was a fixture in the bleachers each and every season and is an avid supporter of the fine arts and sports programs at Lourdes. Rain or shine, she cheered on her family no matter the outcome of the games and formed many deep friendships with other sports moms and dads over the course of years in the stands together.

She stood by Mike and together they fought his 25-year battle with Parkinson’s disease while she served as his primary caregiver through it all.

She was deeply proud of her Irish heritage and was thrilled to make a pilgrimage to Ireland in 2023. She was also a Minnesotan through and through. She would sometimes curse like a sailor when watching Minnesota sports and she and Mike were Twins season ticket holders for many years. She loved the old Met as well and said there was nothing like the thunderous sound of 50,000 Vikings fans all clapping with mittens on.

She was a nearly lifelong cat mom, and she loved animals and nature of all kinds right down to the cicadas in her backyard. For many years she volunteered with Safe Haven Pet Rescue in Rochester, and many often joked that they would want to be reincarnated as Kathy’s cat because they live such good lives in her care.

Always finding the positive in everything and everyone, she was known by many as Grandma Kathy.

She was a devout wife, mother, grandmother and was deeply devoted to her faith. She could be found volunteering and attending mass several times a week at St. John the Evangelist Church and doing whatever she could to help enrich the lives of everyone she came into contact with. She put everyone around her ahead of herself and she loved tirelessly. She loved nothing more in these most recent years than talking about her 5 grandchildren and watching them grow up. Most conversations with Kathy would quickly end up focusing on her grandkids and what they’ve been up to lately.

Kathy had a heart of gold and did her best to always be the light in everyone’s life. She was never afraid to tell you how she felt whether you wanted to hear what she had to say or not, was never afraid to tell you what you needed to hear whether you wanted to hear it or not, and would always be there for you even when you didn’t think you needed anyone to be there. Her relentless love and support of everyone she met was unmatched and will be missed by so many. Her door was always open and an ear and shoulder always available to listen and cry on. Her warm hugs would melt away any troubles we had in our lives, and the Mexi & roast beef would keep us coming back for more!

She will be missed by many, but we know she is dancing again in heaven with Dad.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, January 4, 2025, at The Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist with the Rev. Msgr. Gerald A. Mahon officiating. Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, January 3, 2025, in the River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home and one hour prior to the Mass on Saturday at the church.

Memorials may be made to the family and will be dispersed to organizations closest to Kathy’s heart.

Online condolences are welcome at www.mackenfuneralhome.com.