ons Loots of Pomeroy, Iowa. Catherine's mother died 12 days after giving birth and she was raised for 2 years by her grandmother and great grandmother while her dad farmed. Her father in 1918 married Kate Els Loots and brought Catherine home to live with them. Catherine graduated from Palmer High School. On August 15, 1936 she married Henry Martens. They were blessed with six children. She was a nurse at Mercy Hospital for a short time. She worked in customer service at Montgomery Ward and Brownie Appliance and Repair. In her retirement she worked at Diamonds. Catherine enjoyed her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She sewed for many and made many, many quilts for all of her family as well as her friends, Bible camps and charity. St. Olaf Lutheran Church was their church home while raising their family and in retirement years she and her husband were members at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Callender. She was a dual member of both churches and active in the ladies group, quilting committee, Sunday school and many other important committees. She was a 60+ year member of a ladies card group that played 500. Two in this group are alive at the ages of 101 and 97. At the age of 98, Catherine was asked to fill in when another group of ladies needed a substitute and she jumped for joy to do this. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her. Memorials may be left to the discretion of the family.