Memorial

Katheryn M. Boatman, age 75, passed away peacefully at her home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on July 4, 2020 after a long illness. She was born January 3, 1945 in Kansas City, Missouri to Edward E. Mansur and Margaret B. Robertson. Family and friends will gather for a celebration of life in the coming months.

Katheryn was born in Kansas City before moving to Moline, Illinois, where she graduated from Moline High School.  A 57-year love story began when she met Dennis Boatman at the University of Iowa in 1963. They met on a blind date at the Iowa Memorial Union and shared a Coca-Cola.  She was a rare beauty, and he was a thunderstruck, small-town Iowa boy. They were never apart again. Kathy and Dennis married on July 24, 1965 in Iowa City. Their first daughter, Courtenay, was born in 1966, and shortly thereafter their young family moved to Sacramento, California for Dennis’ medical internship. Dennis served as a captain in the United States Air Force in San Antonio, Texas during the Vietnam War, and their second daughter, Dana, was born there in 1968. They returned to Iowa in 1969 and eventually settled with their family in Cedar Rapids.

Katheryn was a devoted wife and mother. As Dr. Boatman was taking care of patients, she was taking care of him and their girls. She was by his side through midnight emergency calls and after long hours of surgery. There was never a better doctor’s wife.  Her children were her life, and she was selfless with her time and energy. She never missed a school play or sporting event, and was waiting at the end with a smile and warm embrace.  She was there for them, always.

She was a gifted artist and she returned to the University of Iowa to study architecture, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1984.  She designed classic homes throughout the Midwest, and never was her talent on greater display than with the English Country dream home she built for her family in Cedar Rapids.  It was filled with love and joy for the rest of her life.  She was a woman of unmatched class.  Not a thread in her house was ever out of place, and friends and family regularly relied on her sense of art and design.  She enjoyed her winters with Dennis in Captiva Island, Florida, where she loved walking the beach and finding that special seashell. 

To her grandchildren, she was Kassie.  She loved to read stories and collect bugs with them when they were young and imparted many life lessons as they grew.  She was an emblem of elegance and grace to her granddaughters, who learned from her what it meant to be a lady.  All of her grandkids eagerly awaited their yearly Christmas gatherings in Captiva, where they learned to walk and swim and read under their grandmother’s watchful eye. She was there for them at every turn, and they will miss her dearly. 

Katheryn was preceded in death by her parents Edward E. Mansur and Margaret B. Robertson.  She is survived by her husband of 55 years, Dr. Dennis Boatman; daughter Courtenay VanderMolen and her husband, Jon; daughter Dana Anderson and her husband, Darby; five grandchildren, Tyler VanderMolen, Libby VanderMolen, Jack VanderMolen, William Anderson, and Katheryn Anderson; her brother Barry Mansur and his wife, Traci; and her nephew and nieces, Austin Mansur, Dina Mansur, and Morgan Mansur.  

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Dennis L. and Katheryn M. Boatman Medical Scholarship Fund via the University of Iowa Foundation in Iowa City.