Catherine Rose Driffill Kolodejcak went to be with the Lord in heaven on Dec. 20, 2021, joining her husband Conrad J. Kolodejcak, Sr., her son Conrad J. Kolodejcak, Jr., mother Mercedes Gleim Driffill, father Alfred Driffill, Sr., and her 13 siblings. She was born Aug. 31, 1924.

Catherine is survived by her daughter JoAnn Lister and husband Paul; son Gerard Kolodejcak and his wife Jo Ann; seven grandchildren, Karen, Bonnie, Sharon, Mark, Jennifer, Gerard, Jr., and Kimberly; 17 great grandchildren; three great-great grandchildren with one on the way; and several nieces and nephews.

Catherine was devoted to her Catholic faith. She and her husband Conrad were founding members of San Antonio Holy Rosary Parish, Texas, working tirelessly to build Holy Rosary from the ground up. A devoted, caring family member, Catherine was always there. If any family member was ill, in the hospital, or dying, she would be praying by their side. We are thankful for the 97 years God shared Catherine with us, and will cherish her loving memory.

Funeral services and rosary were held at St. Pius X and Angelus Funeral Home of San Antonio on January 3 and 4.

Catherine was the last of the Gleim family heirs who lived in the Big Bend in the 1800s. Her great-grandparents were Petra Hernandez and Edgar Gay Gleim, who owned and operated the Shafter General Store from 1892-1921. Edgar Gleim worked together with his brother, George Gleim of Fort Davis, who also owned the Chisos Mining Company unit in Shafter, Texas.

The Gleim’s daughter Mercedes Gleim married Alfred Driffill, an engineer, who worked in the Shafter Chisos mine. When the mine closed the growing family moved to San Antonio, Texas, where at some point Driffill helped with the building of the Quarry Towers. In March, 1940 Alfred Driffill, son, Edgar Driffill, and Peter Best, an uncle of Edgar’s fiance, reopened the quicksilver (cinnabar) mine in Study Butte, Texas, which operated for only a few years before closing.

Catherine maintained many original photos of the Big Bend during those early years, along with original maps, surveys, deeds, legal documents, and a large abstract. She bequeathed all these to the Sul Ross State University archives for use by students of Big Bend history. Her hope was that these documents would help people studying their family history the way the Sul Ross archive staff helped her find out more about her own roots.