Sr. Catherine E. Linnenkamp

Sister Catherine Linnenkamp, CHM, 87, died February 16, 2026, at MercyOne-Genesis Medical Center, Davenport, Iowa. Funeral services will be held at Humility of Mary Center, 820 W Central Park Ave, Davenport, Iowa. Sunday, February 22, 4 p.m. Rosary and Visitation; 6:30 p.m. Vigil/Memorial Service; Monday, February 23, 11 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial. Cremation will follow, with inurnment at Mount Calvary Cemetery, Davenport, will take place later. Halligan-McCabe-DeVries Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.

Catherine Linnenkamp was born August 12, 1938, in Sigourney, Iowa, to Raymond John and Margaret Susan (Wagner) Linnenkamp. She entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1960 and professed vows in 1963 as Sister Ramona Marie.

Sister Catherine earned an Associate’s degree in Education from Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1958, and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Science from Marycrest College in Davenport, Iowa, in 1964. She later attended George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee, and completed a Master’s degree in Education in 1969.

Sister spent a lifetime dedicated to education, beginning as a middle school teacher at St. Mary’s School in Ottumwa, Iowa, in 1964. She also taught at St. Mary School in Albia, Iowa; St. Anthony’s in Des Moines, Iowa; Lourdes Memorial School in Bettendorf, Iowa; and Holy Trinity School in Davenport. In addition, she served as principal at St. Mary School in Albia and Holy Trinity in Davenport. After retiring from teaching in 1988, she served in the registrar’s office of Marycrest College/Teikyo/Marycrest International University from 1988-2001. After these 37 years in education, she worked at the Genesis Medical Center in Davenport from 2001-2008 in Health Information Management and as a receptionist. From 2009-2022, she served the CHM community as a finance clerk at the Humility of Mary Center in Davenport, and since 2022 has volunteered for the CHM Ministry of Prayer and Witness.

Sister Catherine was deeply devoted to her students. In 1969, she was elected Corresponding Secretary of the diocesan Sisters Council, which aimed to advance diocesan education plans. She was appointed regional coordinator for schools in the Centerville, Albia, Keota-Harper, Washington and Iowa City area in 1971. The following year, she joined a new statewide program, the Provincial Committee on Sisters Welfare, which studied and advised on the pay scales for teaching sisters in Iowa. The National Catholic Education Association awarded her a Certificate of Appreciation in 1977 and a Presidential Award in 1985. She also served on the Due Process board for the Diocese of Davenport. Later, in 1978, after realizing 35 percent of the students at the Holy Trinity school were from Hispanic backgrounds, she launched a bilingual preschool to help young children learn both English and Spanish, as well as religious education, with the hope that someday, all grades at the school might be taught with a bilingual emphasis. For years, she worked to support the Holy Trinity school, raising funds to cover tuition for a student base, nearly half of whom came from families below the poverty line, and encouraging student engagement through music, crafts, and care. At Marycrest, in addition to working in the registrar’s office, she served as the director of Campus Ministry. In the 1990s, she provided entertainment for Marycrest events as one of the “Singing Sisters.”

Sister was a warm and caring woman, whose love of children, cats, music, and art made her beloved by students and colleagues alike. Her joy was infectious and her hugs plentiful. Students at Holy Trinity wrote to a local newspaper in 1980, of their principal: “Sister Catherine gives us all the things we need. She loves us, and we love her.”

Sister Catherine is preceded in death by her parents, brothers John Raymond and LaVerne, sisters Mary Donahue, Donna Fiems and twin sister Sarah Quinn. She is survived by brothers James (Marlene) and Donald, many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews and the Sisters and associates of her CHM community.

Memorials may be made to the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.