Catherine Marie Morris Schartung

Surrounded by the family she built, Catherine Marie Morris Schartung,70, passed away in Owensboro, KY on Monday, November 13, 2017 in the care of Hospice of Western KY.

Since May 25, 1947, Catherine, the daughter of Estil and Dorothy Boone, called Daviess County home. It was here that Catherine met the love of her life, John Morris, and father of her five children. The family said goodbye to their father in 1995, when Catherine lost her first husband to cancer. In the following years, Catherine continued to build her family and friends, marrying John A. Schartung, Jr. in 2011. She is survived by a legacy too numerous to name--some blood, some not, but all loved the same. In addition to her parents and first husband, she was preceded in death by a sister, JoAnne Capps and a brother, Michael Boone.

From an early age, Catherine was a caretaker. First with her children and then professionally, working for nearly three decades in the Owensboro-Daviess County Health System. She had a passion for healing and comfort and often helped those in their final transitions of life.

Many will remember Catherine for her beauty and grace. They will recall her regal face seen so often among the pews of several area churches, family reunions, bingo games and grocery stores. Even more will cite the love and empathy Catherine carried for all people in her heart.

And some will speak of her more intensely. Whether those words are good or bad, they will be spoken with passion. There is no other word for a woman who fought so long, loved so hard, and overcame everything the cruel world threw at her, only to achieve everything she ever wanted: a family bigger than an album, a family whose pictures couldn't fit on a wall, a family she made and family she found, a family she called her own.

Surviving are her husband, John Schartung, Jr.; sons, Scott (Peggy) Morris, Roger Morris, and John, Jr. (Cathy) Morris all of Owensboro; daughters, Kathy (Roy) Blankenship of Owensboro and Tammy (Roger) Henson of Bowling Green; step-children, John A. Schartung, III, Jason Schartung, Jeff Schartung, and Jessie Schartung; 26 grandchildren; 23 great-grandchildren; a sister, Faye (Gerald) Kennison of Owensboro; and a brother, Mike (Shirley) Boone of Owensboro.

Services are 6 p.m. Thursday, November 16, 2017 in the Chapel of Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory with Father Emmanuel Udoh and Pastor Tim Hall officiating. Private burial will be in Pleasant Grove Cemetery. Visitation will be from 11 a.m. till 6 p.m. at the funeral home.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to Hospice of Western KY or to Right to Life.

Online condolences may be left at www.glenncares.com.