Katherine Coffen Martinovich

Katherine Coffen Martinovich, 48, passed away unexpectedly on Feb. 18, 2025, doing the job she loved, caring for patients as a registered nurse.

Katherine was born in Racine, Wis., to Hal and Sheri Coffen.

She lived in Saukville for most of her childhood, graduating from Port Washington High School with the Class of 1994.

Following graduation from college, she made her home in West Bend.

In 2021, she married her love, Mike “Mišo” Martinovich.

Katie’s life was all about caring. This led her to follow in the footsteps of her parents, attending the Milwaukee Area Technical College School of Nursing. She received her associate of applied sciences degree in nursing in 2001 and her critical care registered nurse certification in 2010.

Katherine was a dedicated employee of Aurora Healthcare, serving at multiple facilities throughout her 23-year nursing career. She was always looking for opportunities to learn and grow. She served in many roles, including ICU staff nurse, interim unit manager and house supervisor.

In 2021, she found her passion caring for patients and their families at the end of life at Aurora Hospice at Home. She always found time to listen to and support her patients, their families and anyone in need. For the past three years, she dedicated her life to helping ease the physical and emotional pain of the end of life.

  She was always a caretaker, assisting with the care of her younger brothers and caring for her many pets, plants and people.

As a child, she spent summers at Camp Anokiji in Plymouth, Wis., starting as a third-generation camper, then volunteering as junior counselor, senior counselor and as a part of the ranch riding program. As an adult, she was a camp nurse for many years.

She was a great nursing resource for her family, helping whenever needed.

Katherine had a love for travel! She visited nearly every beach-side city in Mexico on “estrogen escape” trips with her mother, grandmother and cousins Melanie, Alyssa and Alexandra. Delightful family trips to Europe allowed her to meet her many relatives in Denmark, England and Wales.

Katie had an amazing connection with parrots and pets. She adopted several parrots whose owners had passed on or who had been mistreated. She provided them with an enriched and long life. Her love for animals was evident throughout her life. American Eskimo dogs were a favorite. She took them to the show ring as an owner/handler and finished three champions and two grand champions.

She loved caring for her tropical plants, especially monsteras and her beloved orchids. It was not uncommon for her to buy distressed plants and nurse them back to health.

Like both of her grandfathers, she had an amazing talent for fixing whatever was broken, be it people, plants, pets or paraphernalia.

In 2018, she met the love of her life, Mike. His large and supportive family welcomed her right from the first meeting. On Sept. 26, 2021, they married at Boerner Botanical Gardens.

Their home in West Bend was a great source of pride and joy. There they enjoyed puzzling, entertaining and relaxing by their fireplace. Snuggling with their furry friends Figaro, the Siamese, and Fuzzbutt, the American Eskimo, was a favorite way to spend an evening. Even Razzy, the rose-breasted cockatoo, would cuddle up with kisses and an occasional dance.

The couple enjoyed travel together, exploring botanical gardens, national monuments and historical landmarks … even Lambeau field! Outings with the Escape Room Crew were adventures enjoyed by all with a near 100% success rate. Katie loved cooking, baking and candy making with Mike as sous chef.

They had an amazing partnership, faithfully supporting each other regardless of the challenges that life put before them. Nothing brought the couple greater joy than having found each other.

Katherine was preceded in death by her brothers Tristin and Christopher Coffen and her grandparents Harold and Annabelle Coffen, Lewis (Jack) Jones and Joyce Rightler (stepgrandmother).

She is sorely missed by her beloved husband Mike (Mišo, Milutin); her parents Hal and Sheri Coffen, grandmother Randy Hayward; mother-in-law Nova Martinovich; brothers-in-law Alex and Johnny Martinovich; uncles Lee and Guy Coffen, Jesse Cernicka and Jeff Jones; and aunts Jena Cernicka, Tammy Coffen and Sveta Edel.

She is also survived by many cousins, other family members and friends across her various interests and throughout her career at Aurora. She will be especially missed by her dear friends Angie Pirrung and Ane Lijovic.

In lieu of cut flowers, the family suggests plants or a donation to Camp Anokijig, registration@anokijig.com/donate-online.