Kathleen Ann Zeiner was born on April 1, 1942 at Queen of Angel’s Hospital in Los Angeles to Emmett and Norma (Spittler) Zeiner. On her mother’s side, Kathleen could trace her lineage back to the Parmenters in England who arrived in America in 1636. Her father’s parents came from Bavaria in Germany. Kathleen’s parents met in Los Angeles, but both grew up in the town of Nebraska City, Nebraska. When Norma took Emmett to meet her mother, it turns out her mother knew him already.

When her father was shipped out to the South Pacific in WWII, her mother went to work for Paramount Pictures’ costume department under the direction of Edith Head. Kathleen long remembered sitting on Clark Gable’s lap and telling him, “My Daddy’s a Marine. You have to be a man to be a Marine.” After the war, her parents had four more children including Chrys Hamper (who resides in Ferndale), Carl, Monica, and Theresa.

After graduating from St. Monica’s Catholic High School in 1960, Kathleen married Roger Hough in 1962 and had two children, Clinton (Clint) and Christine (Keefer). While Kathleen was always artistic and did crafts, after her marriage dissolved, she was employed by a local crafts retailer. Here she taught a number of arts and crafts classes.

Encouraged by her second husband, Carroll (Skeeter) Klatt (m. 1982) to strike out in her own, Kathleen started her own business and thus began her life-long love and career as a stained-glass artist. Largely self-taught, her pieces reside in numerous residences, as well as churches.

The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority commissioned Kathleen in 1999 to create an entry piece at the newly renovated Los Angeles River Center and Gardens. She was recognized by the California state legislature for this work. Again, commissioned by the MRCA, she created moveable stained glass room dividers based upon the oak tree stained glass in the Gamble House in Pasadena for the Augustus Hawkins Nature Center in Compton, California.

She was one of the artists for many years at the Ferndale Arts Cooperative. Chances are you will never notice her astounding repair of the entry glass at the Carson Mansion in Eureka, it is so well done.

In 2005, she and Skeeter moved to Ferndale following her sister, Chrys. Skeeter passed away in 2010.

On May 17, 2015, Kathleen married Paul Coleman in Assumption Church. They lived together in Ferndale until her passing on August 20, 2026 with Paul by her side. She is survived by her two children Clint and Christine as well as three granddaughters, Cameron, Madison, and Lindsey.

For all who knew her, Kathleen was a sweet, generous soul who will surely be missed.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Suicide Prevention 988 on their website: 988lifeline.org.  A service will be held September 19, 2026 at 2 p.m. at The Church of the Assumption in Ferndale.