Kathleen Jean Gangl

Kathleen (Kathy) J. Gangl (nee Pengra) passed away at the age of 72 on Easter Day, April 20, 2025 surrounded by her loving family. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, Kathy lived a spirit of great kindness for all she met and enriched the lives of all who knew her well.

The oldest of six girls, Kathy was born in St. Paul, MN on July 28, 1952 and spent her childhood in the parish community of Sacred Heart Catholic Church. It was at the church school that she first met John, who would become her husband, best friend, and life-long love. Their years together would be ones of joy, adventure, and true cooperation in all walks of life from family to business.

In her career, Kathy was ever one to make herself useful and invariably indispensable wherever she went. After over twenty years at Arthur Shuster Incorporated, she joined John to help run JP Enterprises. There, her dedication, tenacity and myriad talents carried the company to the heights of its success while also giving her the opportunity to work alongside the family she loved so much. When it came to her work, she could be relied upon to fill any need, take on any responsibility, and learn any skill. Yet for it all, she never lost the humility and patience that her coworkers would remember in her.

Kathy found her leisure in the culinary arts where she was a self-trained maestro, her work in the kitchen becoming the favorite meals and relished gifts of many. Cooking was also a love she shared and nurtured in her children and grandchildren. Even more, Kathy's passion was gardening. Inherited from her mother and shared over the decades with her five sisters, this devotion to the soil and all things that grow was inseparable from who Kathy was. Through her hard work and dedication, she beautified and enriched the world around her along with those fortunate enough to be in it.

In later years, Kathy and John split their time between their Midwest home and the milder winter climes of Cape Coral, Florida where she enjoyed swimming, daytrips, eating out, and hosting friends and family. In the summers, she would return north to the gardens and grandchildren she loved with all her heart.

To those who knew her, Kathy offered a sympathetic ear, heartening conversation, thoughtful advice, and comfort born of a loving spirit. Hers was a life of work and service for the sake of others, and she leaves a model selflessness for which we all should strive. Her loving family commends her soul to her Savior, and we pray that we might measure up to example when our own time comes.

Kathy is survived by her beloved husband, John; sons, Jesse (Robyn) and Matthew (Johanna); cherished grandchildren, Elanor, Sabrina, Basil, Corbin, and Virginia; sisters, Nancy, Pat (Jack) Cahoon, Diane (Glen) Kampa, Elaine (Mike) McCauley & Carol, along with many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Jean and Clayton (Bob) Pengra.

The family would also like to extend our eternal gratitude to the many doctors and nurses at Health Park Hospital (Fort Myers, FL) and the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN) who cared for Kathy during her final weeks and days. So many doctors rose to the call of their profession trying to heal and restore her, while so many of her nurses showed the best of humanity in the love and tenderness they showed to their patient in need.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 AM on Saturday, May 3, 2025 at St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, 4741 Bald Eagle Ave, White Bear Lake with visitation an hour prior to the Mass and on Friday, May 2, 2025 from 4-7 PM at Mueller Memorial, 4738 Bald Eagle Ave, White Bear Lake.