Mignon Palmaria Kachler

75 of Greenwood, Indiana, passed away Friday, January 15, 2016.

Mignon was born on May 17, 1940, in a small railway town called Katni in Madhya Pradesh, India, to the late Manuel and Esmeralda D’Souza of Goa, India. The youngest of five children, Mignon grew up in and around the Bombay area at Lower Parel and Khar and also lived for a short while in Bhusawal, India.

In 1956 at the age of sixteen, Mignon completed her schooling at St. Theresa’s Convent. As a student, Mignon was involved in many school activities. She enjoyed representing the school in academics, arts and sports including softball, tennis and track, where she liked running the 100 yard dash. Since her childhood, Mignon enjoyed fashion, sewing and designing her own clothes and those of her many relatives and friends. As a young adult, Mignon was an accomplished amateur dancer, having won a couple of dance competitions in India. Mignon had a beautiful voice and she loved to sing. She sang with a group that performed at weddings and small functions, singing songs like “Blue Moon” and Patsy Cline tunes. She loved a good dance/party.when her mother allowed her to attend.

After graduation, Mignon worked as a teacher’s assistant to put herself through secretarial training. Throughout the late 1950s and 1960s, she worked as a secretary at various companies ending with Siemens. Mignon helped support her family through the years she lived in Khar and worked in Bombay. Through her position at Siemens, she was encouraged to learn German and just after her father’s death in 1964, Mignon left India to work for Siemens in Erlangen, Germany. Mignon travelled all over Europe at a time when it was uncommon for a woman to do so on her own. Ever on the move, in 1968 she immigrated to Montreal, Canada, where her brother Tony had settled earlier with his family.

While working at the General Woods Veneer Company as a secretary, Mignon met a young German salesman: Bernd “Bernie” Kachler. Mignon and Bernie were married in 1970 and in 1971, their son Mischa was born. Shortly after Mischa’s birth, the new family moved back to Bernie’s home town of Laufen am Neckar in Germany where he worked in the family veneer business. In 1973, while expecting their daughter, Corinne, the family relocated to Greenwood, Indiana, as Bernie had accepted a position with a company in Edinburgh, Indiana.

Upon settling in Indiana, Mignon focused her attention to caring for her family and raising her children. Mignon’s family, including the extended family all over the globe, were central to who she was. She always cared for others and being a mother came naturally to her. After Mischa and Corinne left home, she and Bernie took in her niece Marcia’s children, Marian and Jason, and nurtured them for a year. Later, with the arrival of her grandchildren, Maia and Aeryn, Mignon found a new happiness in being a grandmother. She was a beloved daughter, caring sister, cherished aunt, devoted wife, loving mother and doting grandmother.

Mignon’s interests were as wide and varied as her skills and abilities. She was passionate about the arts, especially music, theatre, and fine and performance arts, and experienced these by regularly visiting concerts, shows, museums, and art fairs. Her love of fashion inspired her to learn needlepoint, knitting, and sewing. Mignon was a master cook, baker, and cake decorator who excelled at entertaining. Her enthusiasm for dancing often inspired others to dance. An avid and voracious reader, Mignon loved a good mystery and devoured books to further her own education. Mignon enjoyed gardening and spent hours every summer tending her ever growing garden. When she couldn’t be in the garden, she would design silk flower arrangements.

Mignon was a devout Catholic since her childhood in India whose faith stayed with her all through the journey of her life. She shared her love of Christ with family and friends through her loving and caring nature, through the care of those in need, through her volunteer work at the Church, and through her mothering spirit.

Mignon is survived by her husband, Bernd A. Kachler; children, Mischa A. (Hwei Jen) Kachler, Corinne K. (David) Kachler-Rosignoli; brother, Anthony (Dolores) D’Souza; and grandchildren Christine, Maia, and Aeryn.

Calling will be 4-8 PM Monday at Wilson St. Pierre Funeral Service & Crematory, Greenwood Chapel, 481 W. Main Street, Greenwood, Indiana. There will be a time for the sharing of memories at 6:30 PM followed by a Rosary.

Eulogy and Funeral Mass will be held 11 AM Tuesday at Our Lady of the Greenwood Catholic Church, 335 South Meridian Street, Greenwood, Indiana followed by a lunch in the lower level of Madonna Hall.

Please take a moment to sign the guest book or to share a personal message. In lieu of flowers for the family, please consider a contribution to Riley Hospital for Children, Shriners Hospitals for Children, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital which were dear to Mignon.