Katy Weikert

Katy Weikert entered her eternal rest Friday May 6th in Evansville.

Jimmie Kay Mitchell entered the world on April 10, 1936 in Camden Arkansas in the midst of the great depression. Her father James and mother Katharine moved to Chicago shortly after Kay’s birth, but work was hard to find for James, a young jazz instrumentalist. So, a year later they retreated back to Arkansas where Kay was blessed with a brother Terry and a sister Barbara. Here, Kay grew up a bit of a tom boy riding her horse Charlie bareback through the woods, climbing her grandmother Katie’s pecan trees, and excelling in her school’s athletic events. It was during this time that a 12-year-old Kay attended a local revival and came to know Jesus as her Savior and Lord, a gift she carried with her always. She excelled in school, leaving Camden Junior High as the “May Day Queen”, her class President and junior high valedictorian.

Life got harder though when her parents ultimately divorced. Kay moved with her mother from the small city of Camden to the state capital of Little Rock where she attended and graduated from Central High School in 1954. After graduation, she moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma and attended business school where she was trained to use a comptometer, an early mechanical precursor to the electronic computer used to perform mathematical calculations. After completing her course of study, she worked for a dairy cooperative. Kay was soon learning bookkeeping and accounting while taking night classes at the University of Tulsa and was promoted to head of her department at the cooperative.

It was at this point that she met her first husband, David Ross, who was in Tulsa waiting to enter the Army to complete his compulsory service commitment. Kay and David married in a small service at home on December 27, 1956. After her husband finished training as a medic and was assigned to an armored cavalry unit in Europe, Kay boarded a flight to West Germany and enjoyed the next year of her life as a hausfrau in Fulda.

After active duty, the couple moved back to Oklahoma where Kay had her three children James David, Mark, and Phillip.

In 1966 Kay loaded up her 3 young boys into the family station wagon and made the journey east to West Baden Springs, Indiana to join her husband who had begun a new job working for his father at Indiana Natural Gas. In the valley, Kay was active with the local Beechwood Kindergarten program and was successful in convincing the school board to begin a kindergarten program within the school system in 1970. She also became very active in the local Research Club and PEO and those interests stayed with her the rest of her life. She was active in Republican politics and served on various municipal boards and committees.

Late in life, Kay found herself single. She met and fell in love with Frederick Cromer, a retired Wesleyan pastor. They married soon after and Katy joined Mitchell Wesleyan Church where she remained a member the rest of her life. Katy and Frederick had many adventures including visiting Frederick’s mission field in Eritrea in eastern Africa. God took Frederick home less than a year later. Katy always cherished the precious months they were given and the love and friendship of the Cromer family.

Some years later, Katy met Joe Weikert and they were married. Katy and Joe had seven great years together until Joe was lost in an accident on his farm in 2019.

In 2021, as her health begin to ebb, Katy moved to Princeton, Indiana to live with her oldest son Dave and his wife Merly. They had a lot of great times together with friends and family, traveling to Europe, the holy lands, and most recently the Caribbean and Central America.

Katy was a woman of God, a force of nature, a great light, and she will be missed. She was preceded in death by her Mother Katharine Prince, Father James Mitchell, Brother Terry Mitchell, Sister Barbara Hall, three husbands David Ross, Frederick Cromer, and Joseph Weikert, and her Granddaughter Nichole Ross. She is survived by 3 sons James David Ross of Princeton, Mark Ross of Hollis, New Hampshire, and Phil Ross of Orleans, a brother Robbie Mitchell of Dallas Texas, a sister Kristi Elia of El Dorado Arkansas, as well as 8 grandsons and 8 great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held Thursday, May 9th, 2024 from 5:00 – 8:00p.m. at Brosmer Kemple funeral home in French Lick. A funeral service will be held Friday, May 10th, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Mitchell Wesleyan Church with a short visitation from 10:00-11:00 a.m. preceding the service. Burial will follow at the Painter Creek Cemetery near Patoka Lake.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Orange County Community Foundation, 1075 N. Sandy Hook Road, Suite 2, Paoli, Indiana 47454.

Arrangements are in the care of Brosmer-Kemple Funeral Home in French Lick, Indiana 47432. Condolences may be made on our website – www.brosmer-kemplefuneralhome.com.