OBITUARY: Cecelia A. (Colsch) Braheny, 1914-2005, Mitchell County, Iowa [Based on obituary in the Mitchell County Press-News online, Feb. 23, 2005] Cecelia Braheny A memorial mass was held for Cecelia A. Braheny, 90, of West Dundee, Illinois, former many-year resident of Elgin on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2005 in Saint Catherine of Siena Church, West Dundee. There will be a private burial service at Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery in Osage. Cecilia died Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2005 at the Sherman West Court in Elgin. Cecilia was born in New Albin, Iowa on Nov. 27, 1914, the daughter of Leo and Nellie (nee Luth) Colsch and was resident of the Dundee-Elgin areas for more than 32 years. She was a member of the St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in West Dundee and was a graduate of the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in Mason City, Iowa. Following graduation she was the supervisor/instructor of Pharmacy of Mercy Hospital in Fort Dodge, Iowa. After caring for her children for 20 years she resumed her nursing career and also enrolled at Elgin Community College in 1958. She was an American Red Cross nurse and a member of the American Iowa and Illinois Nursing Associations until her retirement in 1983. After her husband’s retirement they returned to Osage, Iowa for eight years and returned to the Dundee area in 1987. Pediatrics was her favorite choice of nursing and she was employed at Herrick House in Bartlett for many years. During her 21 years in Elgin she was an active member in many community organizations including charter member, elected officer and board member of The Catholic Daughters, The United Way (where she received a citation for community action) FISH, St. Mary Catholic Church of Elgin Parish Council and St. Mary’s Women's Club. She was a Pro-Life representative in Kane County, a member of the League of Women voters, and a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader for 12 years. She was a member of the Fox Hill Home, Batavia, Elgin Senior Center, and Elizabeth Kubler-Ross program direct care volunteer for North Iowa Hospice and the Fox Valley Hospice for 12 years. Cecelia was a member of the Anatomical Gift Association of Illinois, where she requested her body be given for medical research. Her son John said, "Mom was committed to medical research and felt that much could be learned from her medical history. It was her final, unselfish act in a lifetime of unselfish acts and she wanted to model this last gesture for others." Cecelia was preceded in death by her husband of 55 years, William Barry Braheny, on May 19, 1993, whom she married Sept. 20, 1937; her son, Danny in 1997; her granddaughter, Catherine Braheny Rahn in 1994 and her brothers John and Alfred Colsch. Her survivors include her children John (JoAnn) Braheny of Van Nuys, Calif.; Mary Braheny of Redondo Beach, Calif.; Kevin Braheny of Nevada City, Calif.; her daughter-in-law, Charlotte Koteles Braheny of Elgin; three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; her brother Peter Colsch and her sisters Mary Mackin, R.N., and Ellen Anderson, R.N., 14 godchildren, many nieces and nephews. Arrangements were by the Miller Funeral Home, West Dundee, Illinois (847) 426-3436. Copyright 2005, K.L. Kittleson