Katherine (Kathy) passed away on November 17, 2024, at the age of 70. She was born on April 13, 1954, in Pueblo, Colorado, to Margarito (Magi) and Lisaida (Liz) Mondragon. She is preceded in death by her father, mother, and her husband, Matthew Blea. She is survived by her children, Elena and Andres Blea; her sister, Marilyn Wren (Rodney); her brother, Ben (Vicki) Mondragon; and three nieces, Magi Wren, Kari, and Dana Mondragon. She is also survived by her beloved Aunt Julie Villarreal, and numerous cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.
Kathy graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School in 1972. She attended college for business management, paralegal classes, and classes for her associates degree in psychology/sociology. Kathy loved the legal field. One of her first jobs was for A-I Bail Bonds, one of the original bail bond companies in Colorado Springs. She actively campaigned for bondsman Lee Duran when he ran for City Counsel and State Representative. She was the administrative assistant to the president of the Bank of Colorado (now KeyBank). She was a life insurance agent for Security Mutual Life Insurance Co. and was a legal secretary for the Law Firm of Kane, Donley, and Wills, working for attorney James Bertagnolli. She was involved in Mr. Bertagnolli’s campaign for District Attorney. She also worked for attorneys Ron Coca and David Moore, who founded the Care and Share program. She was a member of the Colorado Association of Probation Offices (CAPO) and she served on the Colorado Association of Court Employees (CACE) board for six years.
Kathy’s longest employment was for the 4th Judicial District, from which she retired after 32 years in 2008. For the courts, she worked at the Probation Department, the Clerk’s Office, and for the Honorable Judge Peter W. Booth, the Honorable Referee Gary Lawyer, and the Honorable Magistrate Daniel M. Winograd. She loved those Judges and praised the brilliance of them all. After her retirement in 2008, she was an independent contractor as a legal transcriptionist with BRB Legal Transcription Services and D&H Transcription Services.
Kathy loved her beloved children and family, the Broncos, the mountains, and the ocean. She loved camping, both in the mountains and at the lake, swimming, waterskiing, kayaking, and boating at Pueblo Reservoir. She enjoyed all types of music and dance, working in her garden, reading, playing piano, ice skating, hiking, travel, and singing. She enjoyed her trips to Cripple Creek, Las Vegas, and the ocean. Her favorite vacations were trips to Jamaica, Mazatlan, Disneyland, Disney World, a Western Caribbean cruise, a Hawaiian cruise, and two cruises with her daughter, Elena, to the Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, and Ensenada, Mexico. She once belonged to the Mariachi choir at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and the St. Cecilia Cantorum choir singing Gregorian chant. In her younger years she liked to play basketball, softball, tennis, rock climbing, hiking, scuba diving, snorkeling, ice and roller skating, and snow skiing. She loved, and was very involved with, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. She served on the board of the Rosary Society, was on the funeral committee, and helped with most anything the church needed. She belonged to the St. Joseph’s Church Red Hat Ladies Society and loved her Red Hat ladies.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at 1830 S. Corona Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80906 on Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at 11:00 am. A rosary will be held at 10:30 am. A reception will follow the funeral mass in the church social hall. The burial will be at Evergreen Cemetery at 1005 S. Hancock Expy., Colorado Springs, CO 80903 following the service and reception. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.
LOVE YOU ALL!! ~Kathy
