Katie earned an associate degree in administrative justice from Southwestern Illinois College and was a 2015 graduate of the Illinois Police Academy. Katie was proud to have followed in her father’s footsteps in the law enforcement field. She served on the Belleville Police Department, the Brooklyn, IL Police Department, and the Washington Park Police and Fire Department. She formerly worked for Abbot Ambulance and was also a 911 dispatcher for the St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency. Most recently, she went to work for the Federal Reserve Banking Institution Law Enforcement Unit in St. Louis, MO. Besides her dedication to the law-enforcement community, Katie was an animal lover and a friend to all.
She was preceded in death by her maternal grandfather, Norman Ray Blissenbach; maternal great- grandparents, Millie and John Blissenbach and Ethel and Sidney Davis; and paternal great-grandparents, Cecilia and George Fink and Irene and Oliver Joellenbeck.
Surviving are her father, Christopher (Laura) Joellenbeck of Trenton, IL;
her mother, Lisa, nee Blissenbach, Joellenbeck (fiancé, Phil Gilmer) of Fults, IL;
a sister, Savannah (Trent) Packer;
two stepsiblings, Justin (Katheryn) Tabet and Cassandra Twardoski;
maternal grandmother, Mary Jean Blissenbach;
paternal grandfather, Ronald (Marsha) Joellenbeck;
paternal grandmother, Judith Joellenbeck;
aunts and uncles, Rhonda (Chuck) Oliver, Timothy (Tonia) Joellenbeck, Becky (Jim) Forquer, and Michael (Rita) Blissenbach;
dear cousin, Amber Blissenbach;
other cousins;
nieces and nephews;
friends;
her dogs, Ella and Remy; and her cat, Bayla.
Memorials may be made to the Backstoppers or to the Monroe County Humane Society. Condolences may be expressed to the family online at www.rennerfh.com.
Visitation: Friends may visit from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 28, and from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 29, 2019, with a First Responders Walk-Through at 10:30 a.m., at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, IL.
Funeral: A First Responders Walk-Through will be held at 10:30 a.m. with funeral services following at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 29, 2019, at George Renner & Sons Funeral Home, Belleville, IL, with Rev. Brian Mixon officiating.
Burial will be at Valhalla Gardens of Memory, Belleville, IL.