Kathryn “Katie” (Holzhauer) McClurg, 60, died on December 12th, 2024, while at the family farm with loved ones.
Born on June 8th, 1964, in Willingboro, New Jersey, Katie was the daughter of Jack Holzhauer and Betsey (Flint) Holzhauer. The Holzhauer family moved to Spirit Lake, Iowa, when Katie was in 4th grade. She graduated from Spirit Lake High School in 1982, then went on to attend both Mankato State University and the University of Northern Iowa. She studied Communication Disorders, receiving both her BA (1986) and MA (1988) from UNI. She began her career as a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) in the Area Education Agency (AEA)/schools in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and later went on to work for the AEAs in Rockwell, Sheffield, Mason City, Armstrong & Estherville, before officially retiring in 2023.
On August 30th, 1997, Katie married Dan T. McClurg, they lived in Clear Lake, IA for 12 years, with their blended family (Kelli, Michael, Danial, and Steven) along with several cats & dogs. Katie and Dan returned to Spirit Lake in 2009 to live on Dan’s family farm.
While working as an SLP, Katie impacted countless students’ lives by helping them to communicate more effectively. She loved her many friends & colleagues that she met and worked with across her career. A former principal, that Katie was fortunate to work with, once wrote, “Teaching was just one of Katie’s many gifts, and I was blessed to witness it daily. Her positive attitude, grit, determination and sense of humor made her an outstanding employee and a dear friend”.
What Katie loved more than anything was her family; her husband, 4 children, 7 grandchildren and her whole extended family, both near and far, and spending time with them whenever she could. Katie was an avid scrapbooker, she loved capturing special family moments. She enjoyed photographing the wildlife around the farm, including deer, wild turkeys, and the many birds that would visit their feeders. She learned how to be a pretty good farmer’s wife, despite her initial hesitation to rural living and she loved caring for her roughly 50-chicken coop.
Katie was first diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and battled bravely for the last 10 years through surgeries, treatments, and additional diagnosis. Her loving husband was by her side through every step, including the several clinical trials Katie participated in. Despite the pain and discomfort, she was determined to make a difference and hoped that the trials would someday help other families who are affected by cancer. Katie showed incredible strength and courage throughout her fight and felt so much love and support over the years through the many fundraisers, prayers, messages and visits.
She is survived by Dan, her husband, marbles partner and love of her life for 29 years; daughter, Kelli (Collin) Elphic of Greensboro, NC; step-sons, Michael McClurg of Spirit Lake and Danial (Liz) McClurg of Sheffield, IA, and adopted son, Steven Craig of Maricopa, AZ; grandchildren, Bryce, Kayla, Phoebe, Owen, Kaiya, Austin & Peyton; her loving mother, Betsey of Spirit Lake; sisters, Pat Moore of Spirit Lake and Anne Strayer of Algona, IA; sisters-in-law, Susan (Todd) Lynn of Spirit Lake and Sandra McClurg of Estherville, IA; and brother-in-law, Kevin Sebastian of Everly, IA; 14 nieces & nephews, as well as 10 great-nieces & nephews, and many cousins, aunts & uncles.
Katie was preceded in death by her father, Jack; an infant brother, David;an infant nephew, Matthew,;mother-in-law, Karen McClurg;father-in-law, Ed McClurg; and sister-in-law, Melissa Sebastian.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 21, 2024, with a visitation held one hour prior at the Robinson Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Burial will take place in the Lake View Gardens Cemetery in Okoboji. Online condolences may be left at www.spiritlakefuneralhome.com .
Memorial contributions can be made in Katie’s honor to the Mayo Clinic Oncology Department, Abben Cancer Center (Spencer), or the World Wildlife Organization (for Katie’s lifelong love of pandas).
