Maria Kaip Watke was born August 17, 1964, to Richard Nick Kaip and Emily Louise (Chieze) Kaip in St. Louis Park, MN. Maria grew up in Orono, MN. She met her husband Terry in California and had Nick, their only child, on April 18, 1999. Maria was a homemaker and her most important role in life was being an amazing mother to her son. Nick was her life. After moving to Florida she was involved in Celebrate Recovery where she was able to mentor women and help them recover just as she had. With her quirky personality and fun spirit she was able to make friends wherever she went. Maria was a hard worker and could step into any situation and help. Whether it was painting, cleaning, training workers at Cheesecake Factory, renovating a cabin, making hand pies, helping open a coffee shop/eatery, and frosting thousands of doughnuts at KwikStar, Maria put her whole heart into it. She loved worship and gospel music and would sing and dance with all of her heart. Always the life of any party, one of her greatest joys was going to Tanzania where she ministered to people across the ocean and she got to see a giraffe in the wild (her 6′ 7″ son’s nickname)! She endeared herself to so many people who truly loved and cared for her. After losing her precious son in Florida, Maria moved to Ute and then to Spirit Lake where she resided up until her death in Ogden. Maria’s biggest desire was to go home to be with her Savior Jesus and her son Nick. She was diagnosed on April 6th with stage 4 brain cancer and on a beautiful morning in May she was carried into the arms of Jesus. Going from this broken world to perfection. Rest in peace, Maria!
Maria was preceded in death by her husband Terry, her son Nickolas and leaves behind her mother Sonni Kaip, 3 brothers, Richard, Michael and Rory Kaip, and sister, Cindy Sahota.
A celebration of Maria’s life will be held June 6th at 11:00 at Waters’ Edge Church, Ogden, IA. Please come ready to share your fondest memories of our precious Maria!
Any donations can be made to Next Life Foundation (www.NextLifeFound.org), the mission she loved in Tanzania.
