Lottie Charlotte McKinney
Lottie Charlotte McKinney, 99, Died Sunday, June 17, 2012, in River Bluff Nursing Home, Rockford, IL.
Lottie was born February 18, 1913, in Blue River, Wisconsin to William & Ida (Bloyer) Kinder. She married Arthur D. McKinney on August 23, 1933 at the Boscobel Fair. He died Nov. 5th, 1981. They farmed in Vernon & Richland counties in Wisconsin until moving to Rockford, IL in March of 1961. Lottie retired from Testor Corp. in 1975.
Lottie’s surviving family members include:
1 son, Robert (Joanne) McKinney, Rockford, IL
2 daughters: Dixie (Frank) Szuminski, La Farge, WI
Mary, also known to family as Rusty (Steven) Keenan, Rockford, IL
6 Grandchildren
Dale (Michelle) Szuminski Byron, IL
Steve (Debbie) McKinney Belvidere, IL
Sharon Montana Byron, IL
Dave McKinney Poplar Grove, IL
Richard (Patricia) Fry Roscoe, IL
Jeff Keenan Rockford, IL
10 Great-Grandchildren Zachary & Brady Szuminski, Chad & Kara McKinney, Kelli, Lindsey & Michael McKinney, Sam Montana, Matthew & Jenna Fry
Many nieces and nephews.
Lottie grew up in Blue River and often talked about how her father collected tolls at the bridge. She graduated from Blue River High School. She had 1 brother, Frank, and 3 sisters, Bessie Barta, Alice Stencil, and Lillian Chitwood. Lottie married Arthur McKinney August 23, 1933 at the Boscobel Fair. With their marriage she gained 2 brothers-in-law, Walter & Leslie McKinney and 6 sisters-in-law, Pearl Nerby, Mabel Fish, Ethel Nelson, Alma Couey, Gertrude Willis and Mildred Collins. They all preceded her in death. Lottie & Art farmed for many years in Wisconsin before moving to Rockford in 1961. Lottie was employed for over 10 years at Testor Corp. where she packaged model airplanes and paint by number kits. She retired in 1975.
Lottie loved to cook and bake for her family & friends. She would bake as many as 5 meat loaves and call her kids or grandkids to come pick them up for supper. She also baked cookies, cinnamon rolls, cakes and apple pies and gave them away. Her fudge at Christmas was always a favorite too.
She enjoyed time with her grandchildren and after Art’s death in 1981, she began traveling on vacations with family members. She traveled to Disneyworld, Arizona, the Black Hills and Branson to name a few. She made many trips to Las Vegas with different family members; two of the more memorable trips were her 80th birthday where she was honored by Wayne Newton, and then for her 90th birthday all 3 of her kids and their spouses took her to Vegas with roundtrip Limousine service from Rockford to Chicago’s O’Hare airport. On her 88th birthday she took a once in her lifetime cruise to the Bahamas with her daughters & their husbands. One of her favorite things was going to casinos to play the slot machines. So in the later years, trips to Hochunk Casino were a treat. Once the slot machines started to change and not spit out her winnings, she gave up on them. She never felt she had won if all she got was a coupon instead of quarters.
Lottie maintained her sense of humor through most of her long life. Her family would like to thank everyone for their cards and visits to Lottie. Also a special thank you to her caregivers in the last two years; Aan Townsend, the staff at River Bluff Nursing Home and also Hospice Care of America, Inc.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, June 21, 2012 at the BLUE RIVER UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. Pastor Barbara S. Miller will officiate and burial will be in the Haskins Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Wedneday, June 20, 2012 at the GODAGER PRATT FUNERAL HOME in Muscoda. Visitation at the church on Thursday will be from 10:00 AM until service time. The Godager Pratt Funeral Home of Muscoda is serving the family of Lottie McKinney.
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