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Christine (Chris) Dina Mullaney, 74, passed away on Oct. 27, 2025, at her home in Storm Lake surrounded by the love of her husband and children.
A memorial service/celebration of life will be held at the Fratzke & Jensen Funeral Home in Storm Lake on Saturday, Dec. 27, at 10:30 a.m., followed by coffee and fellowship. In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial contribution in her honor to the Mayo Clinic or American Cancer Society.
Chris was born on Oct. 15, 1951, in Grouse Flatts, Wash., to George and Lidia (Pasuch) Sather — a couple who met years earlier while George was stationed in Italy following World War II. Chris carried her mother’s Italian heritage with pride, spending summer months with her grandparents in Italy. Her global upbringing took her across several countries, including Japan, before she graduated from Ludwigsberg American High School in Stuttgart, Germany. Because her family moved often, Chris learned early that home wasn’t a place, but wherever her family was together. She and her siblings were extremely close — truly, the best of friends.
When her parents returned to the U.S., Chris enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, just a short drive from their home in Coon Valley. Years later, that house would brim with laughter each Christmas and 4th of July as Chris and her husband, Pat, brought their four children to celebrate with her parents, two sisters and brother, and their children, too. Those lively gatherings shaped how Chris approached family life — full of warmth, food and connection — and she carried those traditions into her own homes in Dell Rapids, S.D., and later Storm Lake.
In 2014, Chris and Pat moved to Storm Lake to fulfill a longtime dream: running a bed and breakfast. For six years, a multitude of guests stayed at The Gables on Geneseo, but it was family visits that meant the most to Chris. She filled the home’s six bedrooms (and every spare cot for grandkids) with love and tradition — blueberry pancakes for breakfast, “second coffee” at 10 a.m., “break time” at 5 p.m., and evening “game drives” capped off with ice cream. Over the Fourth of July, she helped grandkids run a lemonade stand; at Christmas, she rolled out cookies, lefse and gnocchi. Every visit ended the same way: Chris in a chair with a book, grandkids gathered close as she read their favorite stories.
The home in Storm Lake itself reflected her passion for history and beauty. Chris and Pat spent four years restoring their Queen Anne Victorian, and she delighted in uncovering its details. Her love of preservation extended beyond her own home — she was an active member of the Storm Lake Questers, where she researched, presented and celebrated historic artifacts with kindred spirits.
Chris’s career path was as varied as her interests. She ran an in-home daycare, worked as a medical technologist and laboratory manager, and later served as an inspector for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. With OSHA, she volunteered at Ground Zero after 9/11, helping ensure the safety of those clearing the debris — a reflection of her courage and compassion in action. Later, she brought that same care for people as an instructional designer at Good Samaritan, where she worked until retirement in 2018.
Even in recent years, as she faced cancer with grace and grit, Chris continued to live by her favorite advice: “Keep your sunny side up.” Ever the hard worker and gracious host, she was still pulling weeds in their garden just weeks before entering hospice. Their garden stands as a reminder of another saying she loved: “Bloom where you’re planted.” She did.
Chris was preceded in death by her parents, George and Lidia Sather.
She is survived by her soulmate of 48 years, Patrick; children: Brian (Carissa) Mullaney, Brendan (Meredith) Mullaney, Shannon (Danny) Schreiber and Laura (Andrew) Ramaekers; grandchildren: Colin and Ailinn Mullaney, Ian and Orion Mullaney, Finley, Oliver, Ada, Luca and Felix Schreiber, and Jack and Charlotte Ramaekers; siblings: Carl (Donna) Sather, Eleanor (Bob) Beck and Sylvia (Bill Sr.) Getman; nieces and nephews: Jennie Sather, Michael Sather, Norina Beck, Bridget (Matt) Beck, Peter Beck, Jim Beck, Tonya (James) Aguillard, Bill (Nicole) Getman Jr., Chris (Forrest) Getman and Jay (Emmi) Getman; and many great-nieces and great-nephews.
