Kathleen Ann Sieren

Kathleen “Kathy” Ann Sieren (née Rafferty), a remarkable artist, loving wife, and devoted mother, left her final mark on the world on August 13, 2026, when she passed away at 78 surrounded by her closest family.

From her birth in St. Paul, Minnesota, on June 3, 1948, to a childhood spent swimming in Wisconsin’s Shawano Lake, to high school years in West Virginia, and eventually to her forever homes in Milwaukee and Fish Creek, Wisconsin, Kathy never stopped seeking beauty, humor, and play in the world around her.

As a student at Milwaukee’s Layton School of Art in the 1960s, Kathy discovered three great loves that would shape the rest of her life: her husband of 57 years, Michael; Milwaukee’s beloved Lower East Side; and the fine arts. A remarkable artist with an extraordinary eye, Kathy created a body of work in painting, printmaking, collage, and sculpture. Creativity was her core. Creativity was how she navigated the world. Creativity was how she built a life with her best friend and partner in crime, Mike. One home renovation, one road trip, one camping adventure at a time.

In 1980, Kathy and Michael welcomed their son, David, into the world and she dedicated herself to nurturing a family united by curiosity, creativity, and love. A deep celebration of artistic expression—from painting and design to architecture and music—was a constant. The sounds of Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Emmylou Harris ever present. Kathy was loving, funny, and wonderfully unconventional. A spectacular cook. A tremendous interior designer. A fiercely devoted friend. A deeply caring and protective head of home. Kathy lived to transform the most ordinary details into the extraordinary.

In 1984, Kathy and Mike made Fish Creek, Wisconsin, their second home. Her love for the beauty and community of Door County was unparalleled—from its meandering bike trails and dramatic bluffs to Greenwood Supper Club and its magnificent prime rib, from the ice-covered slippery streets of Fish Creek to her beloved summertime pool. An empty chair sits on the pool deck today, reserved in her honor.

Kathleen was a true girl from the north country.

If you go when the snowflakes storm,
When the rivers freeze and summer ends,
Don’t bother looking for her in a coat so warm.

Shorts and a paint-splattered sweatshirt—
That’s the way we remember her best.

Kathleen is survived by her husband, Michael Sieren; her “sweet boy,” David Sieren (Jo-Nell); and her beloved granddaughter, Ava Gray Sieren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leona and Robert Rafferty, and her brother, Michael J. Rafferty (Melda).

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek, Wisconsin.