Ishpeming- Kathleen (McLaughlin) Kostamo. Graveside services will be held on Friday, July 5, 2019 at 11:00 A.M. for Kathleen McLaughlin Kostamo of Marietta, Georgia with inurnment at the Ishpeming Cemetery in Ishpeming, Michigan, with Father Ryan Ford officiating. A luncheon reception will follow at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 1889 Prairie Avenue, in Ishpeming.

A loving wife, mother, nana to her grandchildren, aunt, and dear friend to many, Kathy passed away on July 29, 2018 at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Marietta. She was born on February 22, 1941 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to the late W.H. (Bill) McLaughlin and Ruth (Fleetham) McLaughlin. She was a 1959 graduate of Ishpeming High School. Kathy received a B.S. degree in elementary education from the University of Minnesota in 1965, and taught school in Palm Beach County, Florida and Cobb County, Georgia, prior to her retirement in 2001. In 1963, Kathy was crowned Miss Michigan, the first ever from the Upper Peninsula, and went on to participate in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She married Ishpeming native, Ronald J. Kostamo, on June 26, 1965 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.

A funeral mass was held on August 6, 2018 at 11:00 A.M. at the Catholic Church of St. Ann, 4905 Roswell Rd., Marietta, Georgia 30062. Cremation was conducted by Georgia Cremation Centers of Acworth, Georgia. Donations may be made in Kathy's memory to My Brother's Keeper at the Catholic Church of St. Ann in Marietta.

Kathy's obituary may also be viewed at bjorkandzhulkie.com where relatives and friends may leave a note of remembrance.