Kristin was born in Davenport, Iowa, on December 14, 1950. She was an attentive and resourceful student, graduating with honors from both high school and the University of Iowa. 

She paid for her college education herself. As a teacher, Kristin helped create the IEP (Individual Education Plan) that is now standard teaching practice for disabled children. 

In 1980 she married Bradley Trom, a pharmacist and store manager for a national drug store firm. 

She designed and supervised the construction of their new home in a suburb of Chicago. 

At her urging her husband accepted an assignment to open a new west coast territory for his firm, and Kristin researched and recommended the locations of many of the new stores. 

She also designed and supervised the construction of a new family home on Lake Mission Viejo in Orange County, California.

Bradley Trom's corporate career took off, but new strains on the marriage caused it to end in 1996. 

The couple shared custody of their two children and enrolled them in private schools to assure the quality of their education. 

Bradley helped finance another home for Kristin in Orange County's prestigious Coto de Caza gated community and paid for her post-graduate education in law at Western State University (including study overseas at Cambridge, England) when she wanted to become a lawyer. 

Kristin graduated with honors, passed the difficult California Bar Examination, and soon acquired a reputation for deep and thorough research in case law as well as clear and persuasive expository writing in the preparation of legal briefs. 

One of her briefs was used to help California's Native Americans win the right to expand gaming operations on Native American Reservations (including building Casinos) so that the tribes could break the cycle of poverty and dependence on government handouts that had limited their prosperity for many generations. Kristin's legal career flourished because of such victories. She bought a beach house in Rosario, Mexico, to relax with her kids on the weekends when she had them, and after they graduated from college she made plans for an early retirement in Panama City, Panama. 

She loved the serene tropical climate and delightful cultural potpourri of retirees living there, mostly American and European engineers and professional people who had worked on the ten-year canal-widening project. 

But that sunny final chapter in Kristin's life was not to be. On a house-hunting trip to Panama City she was struck by a service truck while walking on the grounds of the resort hotel where she was staying. At a stroke she was made an invalid. Multiple surgeries and months-long convalescence at a nursing home only prolonged her agony. 

She lost her law career because of brain damage that took away her talent for critical thinking. 

Ultimately, she lost her retirement savings, her house in Coto de Caza, her income, her health, and all her plans for the final chapter of her life. 

But Kristin always had a will of iron (her kids called her the ""mama bear"") and now she rose once again, Phoenix-like, from the ashes of her former expectations to pursue a new set of goals.

She moved to a rental house in Lake Forest, refurbished it, started a home-based business, accepted a seat on the board of directors at Cal-Optima where her legal advice was in demand, and quadrupled the income of one of her favorite local charities just to prove that she still had ""the right stuff"" to pull it off. 

She made longer-term plans, too, to take an extended cross-country road trip to visit the scenes of her youth and to attend her high school fiftieth class reunion in Davenport, Iowa, in September 2018. But fate intervened in these plans as well. In July of that year she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Treatment came too late and the disease spread. 

For five months Kristin descended into a deepening maelstrom of unremitting pain with no exit strategy. Still she remained defiant to the end. 

She died looking at the face of the only man she said she ever loved.

Kristin's roller-coaster life, however, with all its tumults, triumphs, and tragedies, was never lived in vain. 

The ripples of her influence continue to spread today. Every disabled student seeking an education, every spouse seeking respect and fidelity, every Native American seeking a path to prosperity, every parent seeking parenting skills, every lawyer seeking justice, every charity seeking to fund a good cause, every teacher seeking inspiration, and every cancer victim seeking courage to fight on to the end, can find in Kristin's work and experience the inspiration of a purpose-driven life. God bless your pure and noble soul, sweetheart; you made a difference in this world. 

May flights of angels sing you to your rest until we meet again.

December 12, 2012
Millage, Steven

May 1, 2018
Classmate Kirby Rogers
Kirby Charles Rogers, 67, of Davenport, Iowa passed away Tuesday, May 1, 2018. There will be no services scheduled.

Kirby was born on July 28, 1950 to William and Rosemary (Ward) Rogers in Davenport, Iowa. During his life he worked in manufacturing. He moved to Colorado and enjoyed many years there. He eventually moved back to Iowa to live out the rest of his life.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

If you would like to send a card, message of condolence or memories of Kirby Charles Rogers, WHS1968 graduate...write Krista @ Runge  838 East Kimberly Road, Davenport, IA 52807 and they will pass the messages on to family. Runge. Phone is 563 391 6202.

DAVENPORT — Lois Irene Simmons, 99, of Davenport, passed away Wednesday, March 14, 2018. Funeral services will be at noon Monday, March 19, 2018, at St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church, Davenport. Visitation will be from 2 to 5: p.m. Sunday at the Runge Mortuary, Davenport. Burial will be in Davenport Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be made to St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church. Online condolences may be expressed at www.rungemortuary.com.

Lois was born March 12, 1919, in Davenport to Louis F. and Johanna E. (Schroeder) Burmeister. Lois graduated from Davenport High School in 1936 and from Brown's Business College in 1938. She was united in marriage to Lenvil C. Simmons on July 14, 1940 at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Davenport. He preceded her in death on October 10, 2007. Before her retirement in 1981, Lois was a secretary for the Inland Steel Company in Moline.

A loyal, lifelong member of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Lois participated in Sunday school and youth organizations. She loved volunteering at the church, including teaching and serving as director of Sunday school and providing office support after her retirement. Over the years, she was a member of the church choir, adult bell choir and church council. Lois also served as president of the Johnson Elementary School PTA.

Those left cherishing her memory include her daughter, Ellen L. Simmons; son, Lee C. Simmons; grandchildren, Anne K. Discher, Mallory L. Simmons, Rachel L. Simmons and Christopher L. Simmons; great-grandchildren, Anders David, Hans David and Ingrid David; sister-in-law, Frances Huff; and many nieces and nephews.