Obituary
Kathleen A. Hefti
Kathleeen A. Hefti was born on April 18, 1929, in La Crosse, Wisconsin. She died peacefully on May 12, 2026.
Kathleen was the daughter of Nicholas J. Schmitt and Anna S. Polivoda.
Kathleen graduated from Aquinas High School in 1946. She begrudgingly began work at her dad’s root beer stands. She later made many friends working at La Crosse Plumbing Supply, the Auto Lite, and retired from Frank-Len after 25 years.
She was a longtime member of Holy Trinity Parish and the VFW Auxiliary.
Kathleen married Charles Hefti in La Crosse on May 15, 1955. She left the North Side and proudly lived in her South Side home for over seventy years. Charlie died in 1999.
After retirement, she volunteered at Southern Bluffs School for many years.
She was also proceeded in death by her mom and dad and siblings: Robert Schmitt, Thomas Schmitt, Mary Beeck, and Lorraine Pittenger.
Together Kathleen and Charlie had one son Paul, who survives along with his wife Maureen, both of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Kathleen is also survived by her grandchildren: Noah Hammes-Hefti and Zoe Hammes-Hefti (Alex Elliott), both of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and Rei Bangerter of Salt Lake City.
Kathleen is also survived by her beloved brothers and amazing sisters-in-law: James (Janice) Schmitt and Raymond (Rosie) Schmitt. She is also survived by brother-in-law Willis Hefti. She was also blessed to have had a wonderful niece nearby, Betty Foley, who doted on Kathleen for years.
Kathleen leaves numerous other nieces and nephews and many more relatives. She was also lucky to count many friends whom she survived and missed daily.
Kathleen loved to sit on the porch, knit, read and share books, watch The Wheel, listen to Al Martino, finish the most difficult jigsaw puzzles, and harvest and bake things with rhubarb.
Special thanks to the kind and generous staffs of Gundersen Hospice Care, Hallowstone at Onalaska, and Bethany St. Joseph.
A funeral mass will be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 10:30 am at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 1333 13th St. So., La Crosse, WI. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the mass at the church. Father Rick Roberts will lead in worship.
Funeral arrangements by Coulee Region Cremation Group are forthcoming.
I’ve had so many memories of mom the last few months, but the two I want to commemorate feature mom’s willingness to share.
When I met Kathleen and learned she liked to knit I told her I always wanted to learn. Less than a day later I was knitting.
That was how she was. Always willing to share. She often told me how proud she was of the knitter I became. I felt so grateful she was such an enthusiastic and encouraging teacher.
Later while watching me knit she asked me, “Who taught you to knit like that?” I told her, “You did.” She explained that it couldn’t be because she tensioned the yarn in her other hand. Somewhere along the way I took to tensioning like my grandma taught me for crochet and had not noticed. But mom noticed. Made me smile. She was a details woman.
Another example of sharing is Kathleen and Charlie permitting Paul and friends to take over the kitchen for impromptu game nights. They would eat snacks and drinks and play cards or board games. They’d often stay up half the night gaming and listening to music.
All of Paul’s lifelong friends have such fond feelings for the Hefti parents. They all talk about it. But they don’t just talk. They would all look in on mom whenever they were in town visiting their own parents.
I thought the continued visits were a testament to how much the generosity meant to all the friends, but it turned into something more.
There are several of those boys, now grow men, who are like brothers to Paul. They’ve known each other nearly their entire lives.
I’m not sure Kathleen and Charlie could anticipate how deep and meaningful those friendships would turn out to be.
Kathleen told me that she always hoped to have a house full of kids. It wasn’t to be. But having friends fill the Hefti house was close as they got to it. They shared their home. It left a mark on who Paul grew up to be. Who knew that the game nights would give Paul brothers for the rest of his life?
Mom was such a good sport and willing to say yes. That thought has really touched my heart when I think of her these past weeks.