KATHERINE FENNELL

October 15, 1940 - May 27, 2015

Katherine Fennell, 74, of Kankakee, IL, died Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at Riverside Medical Center. Visitation will be Thursday, June 4, 2015 from 10:00 A.M. until time of Funeral Services at 11:00 A.M. at Lax Mortuary. Burial will be in Mound Grove Gardens of Memory. Katherine Fennell was born October 15, 1940 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to Earnest and Willie Griffin Gee. She was the fifth of nine children. From an early age Katherine helped to care for her younger sisters and brothers. In 1961 she moved to Chicago where her older siblings were already living. After residing in Chicago for over 10 years, Katherine relocated to Kankakee, IL where she raised her nephew Horace as her own. Katherine was a kindhearted woman and was considered a mother figure to many. She would open her home and kitchen to those in need. Katherine loved to entertain and surrounded herself with family and friends. Listening to blues and having a great time is what she loved, as well as fishing and gardening. She had a passion for cooking, and did so for local restaurants in her neighborhood. She leaves to cherish her memory, her brother, Henry Gee of Bourbonnais, IL; her sisters, Lillie B. Johnson of Oak Park, IL and Mary Louise Gee of Kankakee, IL and a host of nieces, great niece, nephews, cousins and friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, Horace, Harold Jr., and Alexander; her sisters, Ernestine and Zulla; her niece and namesake, Katherine and her nephew that she raised, Horace.