Kathy was born to Eddie and Rosie Schmaus on July 10, 1938, in Sisseton, South Dakota, the eighth of eleven children.

She attended primary school grades 1-8 at Long Hollow #3, a one room country school house in the Coteau des Prairies hills near the farm where she was raised. She then moved into town and lived with her older sister Dorothy, and her husband Harry, to attend Sisseton High School.

After high school, she married Robert Rice and they had two children, Wayne and Sheila. They were married for 25 years before divorcing and always remained good friends.

In 1976, she enrolled in the Portland Adventist School of Nursing and became a clinical nurse, retiring in 2007 from Portland Family Practice.

She leaves to mourn her two children, Wayne Rice and Sheila (Craig Pettit), grandchildren, Lauren Verhaeghe and Michael (Erin) Pettit, and great-grandson Kalem Verhaeghe, her former husband, Robert Rice, and her long-time companion, Dennis Keel, and her sisters, Carole (Nate Thorpe), Judy (Gary Gleason), and Marcia Schmaus (David George). She was preceded in death by her sister, Dorothy Thelin, and brothers, Edward, Earl, Richard (Dickie), Robert (Bobby), Gordon (Buddy), and William (Billy).

She was a devout Christian and always had faith in God. She liked to read the Bible and always said her prayers. She prayed for everyone! She was always very close to her family and loved them all very much. She always knew she would be reunited with her loved ones in heaven someday.

She was beautiful inside and out and will be terribly missed by her family.