Darlagene Kratoska

Darlagene Kratoska

Darlagene Kratoska, 81, of Toledo, passed away Wednesday, September 12, 2018 at the Iowa River Hospice Home in Marshalltown. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Monday, September 17, 2018, at 10:30 AM at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Tama with Father Michael Mescher as celebrant. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo. Visitation will be held Sunday, September 16, 2018 from 5-7 PM at Kruse-Phillips Funeral Home in Tama.

Darlagene was born on August 31, 1937, in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter of D. Russell McCarthy and Dorothy (Turbett) Rash.

Darlagene graduated from Iowa State Teacher’s College in 1957 and from UNI with a B.A. in Early Childhood Education in 1973. She taught in Reinbeck from 1957-1958 and then taught at South Tama County Community School District retiring in 1999. She was a wonderful teacher and greatly enjoyed her career.

On October 4, 1958, she was united in marriage to Paul Kratoska at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Chelsea, Iowa. Darlagene was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Tama. She enjoyed playing bridge with two groups and played 500 in a couple’s group with her husband. She was an avid Iowa Hawkeye football fan and had season tickets for over thirty years. Her hobbies included flower gardening, country dancing, shopping, cooking, and baking. Most of all, Darlagene loved her family and was an amazing wife, mother, and grandmother.

Survivors include her husband of fifty-nine years, Paul of Toledo; her children, Lisa (David) Henrich of Elgin, SC, Todd (Maureen) Kratoska of Toledo, Lori (Marty) Polka of Norwalk, and Becky (Mark) Hanna of Rochester, IL; nine grandchildren, Nicole, Jennifer, William, Ryan, Allison, Dylan, Courtney, Jack, and Walker; two great-grandsons, Dominic and Colton.

Preceding her in death were her parents, Dorothy Rash and D. Russell McCarthy.

Memorials may be directed to Iowa River Hospice, 502 Plaza Heights Rd, Marshalltown, IA 50158.