Joan H. Kattau Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Joan Maxine (née Hostetler) Kattau died on April 29, 2020 at the Village Walk Assisted Living and Memory Care Community in Patchogue, aged 88. She had suffered from Alzheimer’s for several years. She is survived by her children and sons-in-law, Maureen Kattau & Michael Johnson of Sydney, Australia, Stephen Kattau of Patchogue, Edward Kattau of Virginia, and Barbara & Peter Dayton of East Hampton, and three grandchildren, Gail Johnson, Freddy Dayton, and Aly Dayton. Her husband, Frank Kattau, her son, Philip Kattau, and her sisters, Betty Sather of California, and Louise Shaw of Indiana, predeceased her. Born in 1931 in Walkerton, Indiana to Glenn and Writhe Hostetler, Joan (or Joanne, as they pronounced it there) graduated from high school as class salutatorian. She began her higher education at Indiana Central University where she studied Latin and French and enjoyed participating in pranks. While attending Indiana Central, she met Frank and they married in 1952, moving to Patchogue shortly thereafter. After many years of raising her children, she returned to university in 1974 to complete her degree and received a BA in Anthropology from Stony Brook University in 1976, graduating with High Honors. She took classes in photography and film development while at the university and became an avid photographer. Her photos focused on nature and flowers but she delighted in the self-timed feature and took many pictures of herself with family and friends. In 1981, she began working for the IRS in Holtsville in the Computer Service and Accounting Department, becoming a supervisor, and retiring in 1996. She received many commendations over the years for the quality of her work and her superior customer service. Joan always remained an intellectual with sense of adventure. She was a big fan of Joseph Campbell’s writing on comparative mythology and immersed herself in his works. Meeting renowned anthropologists Maeve and Richard Leakey when they visited Stony Brook was memorable for her. She had a love of travel and crisscrossed the United States by car multiple times, always stopping in Indiana on the way and including visits to sites of historical or archeological interest, even venturing as far as Alaska. Later, she travelled internationally to Papua New Guinea, Australia and Zimbabwe. She read widely and loved most books, with the exception of the Joy of Cooking, which she frequently used as an example of an oxymoron. She was fond of popular music, her favorites being Simon & Garfunkel (she preferred Art to Paul), and Willie Nelson. For many years, she rode the “cheap train” organized by the Patchogue-Medford Library into the city on trips to many cultural institutions, including her favorite the Metropolitan Museum of Art, especially the Michael J Rockefeller wing exhibiting primitive art. She loved gardening and was a member of the Patchogue Garden Club. She enjoyed visits to the Bayard Cutting Arboretum every year during daffodil and rhododendron times and during lady slipper season would hike to the farthest parts of the park to search for the elusive blooms. She will be interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery on May 5th at 11:30, with a memorial service to be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers please make a memorial contribution in Joans name to Alzheimer's Foundation of America (https://alzfdn.org/support-us/donate/) Your contributions will be deeply appreciated by her family.

Tributes

Joan H. Kattau

June 1, 1931 - April 29, 2020