Katherine Marie Gerkins

Katherine Marie (Vandeventer) Gerkins, 72, passed away peacefully Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020 at her home in Norman, Oklahoma surrounded by her family and her beloved pup Sophie.

According to her wishes, cremation has taken place and burial in Riverside Cemetery will occur at a later date.

Katherine “Kathy” Vandeventer was born to Edward and Evelyn (Coomer) Vandeventer in Charles City, Iowa on Oct. 13, 1947. She was the oldest of six children born to her parents.

On April 9, 1966 she married William “Bill” Whitman in Charles City, Iowa. They later divorced. On Feb. 14, 1977 she married Timothy “Tim” Gerkins in Reno, Nevada.

Kathy graduated from the Charles City Community School system and was a member of the Class of 1965. After she married Bill, she moved to Oakland, California where Bill was stationed in the Navy. She spent most of her life living in the San Francisco Bay area. Kathy and Tim owned The San Francisco Plant Company in San Francisco until their retirement in 2018 when they moved to Norman, Oklahoma.

Family was near and dear to her heart and an important part of her life. She spent as much time with her grandchildren as possible. She loved her friends and could always be counted on to be there for them.

She was an avid genealogist and would visit different states, often by herself, in search of family history. She was a member of Find A Grave for 20 years where she created thousands of memorials. In collaboration with the Riverside Cemetery Association, she and her sister Chris, documented the cemetery in Charles City with photos and grave information on Find A Grave.

Living family members include her husband of 43 years: Tim; daughters: Wendy (Jim) Olsen, Norman OK, and Gina (Joel Rogge) Skelton, Brentwood, CA; sons: Steve (Carolyn) Whitman, Noble, OK, and Mike Ruiz, Healdsburg, CA; 8 grandchildren: Matthew, Rachael, Natalie, Haley, Carson, Cody, Taylor, and Madison; 4 great grandchildren; 2 sisters: Chris (Bill) Tonn and Kathy Vandeventer; sister-in-law Linda Vandeventer; and several nieces and nephews.

Kathy was preceded in death by her parents; 4 brothers: Ed Jr., Ronald and Donald in infancy, and Chuck Vandeventer; and mother-in-law Virginia Lane.