Houghton - Katherine Walberger Lindley of Woodstown, New
Jersey, formerly of Houghton, passed away March 8, 2018. Born in Otisco, New
York, on June 25, 1922, she was the daughter of the late Walter and Lillian
Kinney Walberger.
Katherine graduated from Houghton College in 1943. After
teaching high school for two years, she moved to Madison, Wisconsin to pursue a
M.A., then a Ph.D. in modern European history in 1949. While there, she met and
married Kenneth Lindley, to whom she was married until his death in 2006.
Upon finishing their studies in Wisconsin, the family moved
to Brookings, South Dakota, where they lived until 1963. At that time, they
decided to move back to Houghton, New York, where Katherine taught European
History and Political Science at Houghton College, her alma mater, for over 30
years. She also served as Chairman of the Division of History and Political
Science for much of that time. She taught and mentored many students, where she
was often referred to as a “firm but fair” teacher. She did not hesitate to use
her red pen, and taught hundreds of students to write well and think
critically. Her greatest joy was to see a colleague, student, friend or her
family reaching for and exceeding their potential. Many credit her as a mentor
and friend. She helped many women grow in strength, and helped the men around
her see what capable women could do. Surviving is one son and his wife, Mark
Lindley and Sandy Talbott of Ann Arbor, Michigan; and three daughters and their
husbands, Lois and John Jordan of Pilesgrove, New Jersey; Margaret and James
Koch of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Eileen and Marshall Williams of Newark,
Delaware, fourteen grandchildren and twenty-seven great-grandchildren.
In addition to her parents and her husband she was
predeceased by three sisters, Marjorie Beak, Jennie Brown, Helen Walberger; and
four brothers, William, Arthur, Ellis and Walter Walberger.
Family and friends may gather from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on
Friday, March 16, 2018 at the Kopler-Williams Funeral Home, 21 N Genesee
Street, Fillmore and from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at the
Houghton Wesleyan Church where a funeral service will follow at 10:00 a.m.
Burial will be in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Houghton. Memorials if desired to:
Houghton College.
