Lillian "Kay" Catherine Cronin

Cronin, Lillian “Kay”

Lillian “Kay” (Carlson) Cronin, age 81, passed away peacefully on August 7, 2026.

Kay and her husband, Jack, made their home in Kimball, Minnesota, where they raised their four children. She devoted herself wholeheartedly to her children and lovingly cared for Jack throughout his illness until his passing in 1990. After Jack’s death, Kay answered what she felt was another calling to live her faith—to care for others through the nursing profession. She graduated from St. Benedict’s and spent her career caring for residents in nursing homes. She was a true example of what it is to bring dignity to those in need through compassion, patience; the love of Christ. Her family remained her greatest earthly joy. Kay was deeply involved the lives of her children and grandchildren and cherished every opportunity to be present for their milestones, activities, celebrations, trials, and everyday moments. Kay's Catholic faith was the foundation of her life, which was not something she simply practiced; it was woven into the way she lived.

Kay is survived by her children, Patrick; Colleen (Peter) Shin; and Kate (David) Seckinger; her grandchildren, Keiran Cronin, Maggie, Olivia, and Molly Sutton, Madeline, Reghan, and Darby Cronin, Paddy, Matty, and Quinn Shin, Eve, Jack, and Ted Seckinger; and her siblings-in-law, Pat Carlson and David Thorsrud. 

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Jack; her parents, Ernest Carlson and Ella and George Rucki; her daughter, Bridget Sutton; and her siblings, Ray, Janice, John, and Mary.

A wake visitation will be held on Wednesday, August 26, from 4:30–7:00 p.m. at Willwerscheid Funeral Home & Cremation Service, 1167 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105. Mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 27, at the Church of the Sacred Heart, 4087 West Broadway Avenue, Robbinsdale, MN 55422, with visitation one hour prior to Mass.

Following Mass, Kay will be laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in St. Paul, with her husband, Jack.