The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.

Meet Your Neighbor

By Sally Day for the Quill

Employed and living in Burlington, Iowa, Kathy Furnald was a familiar face in Stronghurst for many years. She was born in Joliet, and, as the youngest of five children, moved with her family to Stronghurst when in the fifth grade.

Kathy graduated from Southern High School in 1989, and attended Southeastern Community College in their Medical Assisting Program.

When she left college, Kathy was a stay-at-home Mom for a time. She next was employed at Lowe's in Burlington, IA; followed by working at a Day Care and being employed by Great River Medical Center as a Dietary Aide, all in Burlington, IA.

For the past eight years, Kathy has enjoyed being employed at U.S. Cellular in Burlington as a Retail Wireless Consultant.

Kathy and her husband, Pete, are the parents of two children. Madison is a Senior at Burlington High School. She will graduate in May. Younger brother, Alex, is a Sophomore at Burlington High School. Pete attended Northeast Missouri State College. He now works for E.T. Video out of Coon Rapids, Iowa. Pete has worked there for 28 years and works out of their home.

Kathy's parents are Jens and Amy Notestein of Stronghurst. Jens, currently retired, was a data processor, and also owned his own convenient store in Piper City, Illinois. Prior to moving to Stronghurst, Jens also did some independent consulting. Amy is retired from Great River Medical Center, where she was in the Medical Records Department.

James and Anna Riney and Vern and Evelyn Notestein were Kathy's grandparents. They are all deceased.

Kathy is the youngest of five siblings, the eldest of which is Kim Hixson. Kim and her husband, Chuck are the parents of six children in their blended family. Kim is a Specialist Enrollment Person at the Community Health Center. Chuck is a Captain at the Mount Pleasant Prison. The Hixsons live in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Next is brother, Brian Notestein. He and his wife, Gerry live in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Brian is retired from the Navy and currently works for Visa as a data processor. Gerry is a homemaker.

Brad is the third sibling and is married to the former Mary Schmitz of Stronghurst. Brad is in the car adjustment business and Mary is a legal secretary.

They are the parents of Mackenzie, currently enrolled at Monmouth College and Kelsey, an eighth grader. They reside in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

The fourth sibling is Kristi Notestein. She has one son, Jaedin, who is in the eighth grade. Kristi woks at AEA, where she is an Itinerant Deaf and Hard of Hearing Teacher.

Kathy and Pete are affiliated with the Messiah Lutheran Church in Burlington, IA.

Family fun includes camping along the Mississippi River, where they lease some land.

They also enjoy this with friends and love to sit around the fire pit. As a hobby, Kathy thoroughly relishes in Scrapbooking.

The Furnalds love to take a nice vacation at least once every other year. They have enjoyed trips to Colorado and Mexico in the past.

Kathy says her mottoes include "Treating Others as You Would Like to be Treated." and "Live, Love, and Laugh."