Katherine Globuschutz Fricker, of Granger, Indiana

Published 9:51 am Thursday, June 11, 2015

March 8, 1927 — June 9, 2015

Katherine Globuschutz Fricker, 88, of Granger, Indiana, and formerly of Niles, Michigan, died at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2015, at Wellbrooke of South Bend following a brief illness.

She was born on March 8, 1927, in Yugoslavia to Karl and Barbara (Armbruster) Haas. She survived the hardships of World War II in Yugoslavia, including four years of confinement in a Russian work camp.

Katherine Globuschutz Fricker

She came to the United States in 1957, taking residence in South Bend. In 1970 she came to Niles, returning to Indiana in 1989. She was employed for many years as a seamstress for the Sisters of the Holy Cross Convent at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.

Katie was a member of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Niles, and has been attending Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in South Bend.

Her interest in sewing extended to her home, where she also enjoyed gardening. She was well-known for her pleasure in the fellowship of playing cards — and her zeal for winning — especially euchre.

On Nov. 15, 1952, in Germany she married Paul Globuschutz who preceded her in death on Jan. 12, 1982. Later, on Jan. 1, 1989, in Granger, Indiana, she married Frank Fricker who died in January of 2001. She was also preceded in death by her sisters, Susanne Gutle and Christina Bender, and by Elizabeth Haas who died in World War II; sister-in-law Inga Haas and brother-in-law Martin Merkle.

Surviving family includes her daughter, Ingrid (and Bill) Maki of South Bend and her daughters, Amy (and Mark) Shively and Kristina (and Tony) Closson, and their children, Jillian Joseph, Hannah, and Olivia; Frank’s daughter, Helen (and Stephen) Housley of Reston, Virginia and her children, Meghan Housley and Mathew Housley; and Katie’s siblings, Franz (and Anna) Haas of Granger, Indiana, Karl Haas and Barbara Merkle, both of Germany; and many nieces and nephews in both Europe and the United States.

The funeral service for Katherine Globuschutz Fricker will be at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 12, 2015, at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in South Bend with the Rev. Gregory Fiechtner of the church officiating.

Committal will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery in Niles.

The family will receive relatives and friends on Thursday from 6 until 8 p.m. at the Halbritter Funeral Home in Niles, and on Friday beginning at 10 a.m. at the church.

Contributions in memory of Katie may be made to Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church, South Bend, or to The Center for Hospice Care.

www.halbritterfunerals.com