Kathryn Jean Tews, Manawa, age 64, departed from this life while at home on Saturday, January 15, 2022, after a lengthy journey with cancer.

She was born Kathryn Jean Abraham on May 16, 1957 in New London, Wisconsin, the youngest daughter of Donald and Betty (Nelson) Abraham. Kathy graduated from Little Wolf High School in 1975, and went on to earn a diploma in Early Childhood Education from Fox Valley Technical College. Kathy’s love of reading reached beyond her own children and grandchildren; countless school children benefited from her nurturing as she worked as a teacher’s aide and reading specialist at St. Paul’s Lutheran School, New London Head Start, and Sugar Bush Elementary School. On Christmas 1994, Kathy married Tom Tews, and their two tribes of children came together. Kathy, Tom, and their five children learned how to squeeze in around the kitchen table, survive family road trips in a van, and share the bathroom on Sunday morning. In true “Yours, Mine and Ours” fashion, Kathy would often remark there was “never a dull moment” in the house. Kathy could always find a reason to “get outta the house” and travel; camping trips up north, road trips out West, and jet setting abroad were a fixture on her calendar. Most notable were her frequent fishing trips with Tom to Custer State Park in the Black Hills and fulfilling a longtime dream to visit Dollywood and the Smoky Mountains. Kathy will be remembered for how much she loved decorating for the holidays and being a grandmother. The only thing bigger than the Christmas tree she decorated each year was her love for the grandchildren. Maybe this is why the grandkids gave her the unusual, yet appropriate name “Dinosaur Grandma” to make sense of her larger-than-life character.

Kathy is survived by husband, Thomas Tews; five children: Anthony Flanagan, Megan (Justin) Timm, Jakob Tews, Sarah (Randy) Backman and Meagan (Thomas) Schweinert; seven grandchildren: Declan and Delta Timm, Logan Tews, Jayden and Whitley Bachman, and Lena and Eli Schweinert; her mother, Betty (Nelson) Abraham; sisters, Jan (Dale) Zettler, Pam (Clayton) Moorehouse and Deborah Krueger; nieces and nephews. Kathy was preceded in death by her father Donald Abraham; and infant sister Sandra Hendricks.

Per her wishes, the family will forgo a funeral service. Instead the family is holding a Celebration of Kathy’s Life on Sunday, June 26, 2022 at Bear Lake Resort, Manawa. Burial will be in Oakwood Cemetery, Weyauwega. Invitation and details to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. You may also remember Kathy by planting a tree, taking time for conversations with people with special needs, and reading a book with a child. Cline-Hanson-Dahlke Funeral & Cremation Care of Manawa is assisting the family.

The family would like to extend sincere gratitude to Dr. Augelli of ThedaCare Cardiovascular Care Appleton, the hospice nursing team, and Kathy’s supportive, lifelong friends, especially the “St. Paulie Girls.”