Kerttu "Katie" Rottmann

Kerttu (Katie) Rottmann died peacefully on August 31, 2026.

Kerttu was born to Kasperi Saukko and Anna Liisa Pohja on the family farm in Saastamala, Finland on March 5, 1936. Growing up on the farm with few limits, she developed a free spirt and closeness with nature. Kerttu’s education began in the village’s one-room schoolhouse. She used her mother’s old bicycle or skis to get to school. She excelled in languages, and was fluent in Finnish, Swedish, German and English. She attended the prestigious Helsinki School of Business Administration. Kerttu met her future husband Hans Ralph Rottmann when she attended a summer program for foreign students at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. They corresponded for three years before marrying in 1959.

In 1960 Kerttu immigrated to the USA to join Hans in Toledo, Ohio where their first child was born. This is where Kerttu became Katie. This was a time of adjustment for Hans and Katie as they adapted to married life, being parents, and life in the USA. Katie and Hans were proud to become US citizens and always voted.

In 1963 Hans got a job with IBM in Poughkeepsie, NY where they welcomed two more children. When Katie was in her 40s she earned an Associates and then a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing. After graduating she worked as a public health nurse for Dutchess County Health Department. She loved working with her elderly patients.

Katie and Hans hiked the Catskills, Shawangunks, and many National Parks across the country. Katie was an active outdoorswoman and led advanced hikes in the Catskills for the Sierra Club. She biked the Erie Canal from Syracuse to Albany and hiked the Inca Trail to Macchu Picchu. Katie was also known for her knitting, weaving, and sewing skills; crafters often visited Katie to learn or get help with their projects.

Katie had a fierce love for her grandchildren: taking them hiking, camping, baking cookies and teaching them to split wood, knit, sew and weave. Katie and Hans loved sharing their camp on Galway Lake and vacationing in York Beach, Maine.

Most recently Katie resided at the Glen Eddy and Kingsway Arms in Schenectady. She loved and appreciated her caretakers.

Katie is predeceased by her husband Hans Ralph and her sister Raili Ahti.

She leaves behind Lisa (Claude) LaVigna, Tina (Tony) Mrazik and Hans Eric (Molly) Rottmann as well as nine grandchildren: Joe and Nikki LaVigna, Peter, Sophia, and Sam Mrazik, Hans William, Max, Jude and Thomas Rottmann, and sisters Aino Sandholm and Sirkka Friis (Christer) and many nieces and nephews.

Katie’s family is grateful for the compassionate care provided by the staff at Kingsway and Hospice during her final months. She requested that donations in her memory be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation. Her family will celebrate her life privately.