Connie Courtade

Connie Courtade, age 75 of Cottage Grove, Minnesota passed away October 15, 2016 at her home surrounded by her loving family following a courageous battle with cancer.

Memorial service will be 6:00 pm, Wednesday, October 19, 2016 at Kok Funeral Home, 7676 – 80th Street S., Cottage Grove, Minnesota with visitation one hour prior. Memorials may be directed to the Allina Health Hospice Foundation (https://donate.allina.com). A special thank you for the compassion shown by the staff at Allina Hospice and Visiting Angels.

Connie Joann Courtade was born September 12, 1941 in Warsaw, Indiana to Louis and A. Ruth (Leifer) Meredith. In 1959 she graduated from the Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park, Illinois and went on to attend Ravenswood School of Nursing in Chicago. Over the next several years, she continued to pursue her education while working full-time in the nursing industry by attending Central Michigan University and eventually earned her Master's Degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from Wayne State. Connie had been a long time resident of Traverse City, Michigan, parts of Southern Michigan and Portland, Oregon before moving to Cottage Grove, Minnesota to be near family in the late 1990's. Most recently she had been employed at United Hospital in St. Paul in the Oncology Department.

Connie enjoyed needle point, crocheting and sewing. In her younger years, she loved to be outdoors and enjoyed fishing, skiing and scuba diving. Connie adored her family and loved to spend every moment she could with her beloved children and grandchildren.

She is survived by her son, Karl; daughter Bobbi Cummins; grandchildren, Elizabeth and Alexandra Courtade, Mackenzie and Keaton Cummins; sister Jan (Ron) Uthe; brother Louis (Ingelore) Meredith and niece Dawn (Dan) Manata as well as those who considered her as grandma, Ryan Bell and Shannon Mehrkens and their families. Connie is preceded in death by her parents and nephew Mark Meredith.