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Katherine Dane Grooman, 67, of The Woodlands, Texas traveled to heaven during the evening of Monday, June 14, 2021, and returned to her mama's loving arms.  Her memorial service will be held Wednesday, June 23rd, 10:00 am at Klein Funeral Home, 14711 FM 1488, Magnolia, TX, 77375.  Katherine was the first of three children born in Detroit, Michigan, to Marilyn Yvonne and James Parsons Dane, followed by brothers Bruce Campbell Dane, and James (Jimmy) Arthur Dane.  Although she bossed them around a fair amount and inflicted the standard amount of "big sister torture," on these poor boys, her little brothers were her heart and soul.  For the entirety of her adult life, she would miss living with them every day.

Everyone who knew Katherine was made aware that her family was her most prized possession, and she was born into an extraordinary family who loved her dearly.  Her mother Marilyn's "first baby," little brother David Sucher, was an instrumental force in her life, whom she adored, along with his fabulous wife, Karen and his three beautiful girls, Jill, Carrie, and Laura Sucher.  Her father Jim's little "sis," Marion was such a fabulous Godmother, that Katherine would later choose Aunt Marion as Godmother for her first born child.  Marion married the lively and outspoken Bob Brewer, and their two sons Bill and Richard Brewer, were so dear to her, that she also considered them brothers.

After graduating from Redford High School in 1971, her three true loves entered her life: Michigan State University, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and a Theta Chi named Dan Grooman.  Katherine often reminisced about the great times she had at MSU, where she forged lifelong friendships, met her future husband, and learned the Kappa Lullabies that she would sing to both her children and grandchildren every time she rocked them to sleep.  She graduated from college in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Retail Management and was hired by Montgomery Ward for a position in management.

Dan and Katherine were married in 1977, and bought their first home in Chicago, Illinois, which is the city where they both started their careers.  A mere nine months after their wedding, Katherine was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 24, but she was able to soldier through major surgery and beat the disease with lots of support from friends and family.  Doctors informed her that she could not have children, due to the hormone-dependent nature of her recent bout with cancer, but she was not one to let medical advice stand in her way.

Her first child, Amy Grooman, was born in 1980, and her son, David Grooman was born in 1985.  She was an active, fun, highly involved mom who always participated in the PTA, helped with nightly homework, and chauffeured her kids to their numerous after school activities.  Katherine and Dan moved to several places throughout the years and would eventually move to The Woodlands, Texas, where Katherine lived the rest of her life.  Distance never stopped her from being close with the family, and as her family grew, her heart grew, because she fell in love with each and every baby born into her family.  Bruce Dane's children Andrew Campbell, Katherine (Kara) Natalia, and Luke William, along with Jimmy Dane's children, James Alexander, and Nicholas Michael were loved as if they were her own.

Katherine was great at many things, but her light truly shined the brightest in her role as a grandmother.  Her first grandchild, Madison Louise Friedsam, was born January 21, 2001, and when Katherine first held her granddaughter, Madison curled her fingers around grandma's pinky, and around her heart.  Everett James Grooman was born June 13, 2018, and every day for the rest of her life, she raved about her grandson, sharing tidbits of all the adorable things Everett did and said during visits and FaceTime calls.

The undisputed source of Katherine's most favored and precious memories is the Victorian house in Charlevoix, Michigan that has been owned and loved by the family for over 100 years.  As a child, she spent the summers in Charlevoix, playing with her brothers and cousins until the sun set over Lake Michigan.  The house in Charlevoix grew more sacred to her as the family grew, and her heart was filled when the summer months brought Brewers, Danes, Everinghams, Groomans, and Suchers together.

​Everyone who knew Katherine loved her.  She was a remarkable, beautiful, loving woman who was the life of the party, and she will be forever missed.