Katherine Hannahs

Funeral services for Katherine Hannahs were held on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Gregory, SD, with Father Jonathan Dillon celebrant. Lector was Ronda Graber, and Cantor was Patty Willuweit.

Music was provided by Sandy Stukel, pianist. Altar servers were Madisan Graber and Ian Opp. Terry and Linda Bertelsen were in charge of registration.

Casket bearers were Bobby Soesbe, Landon Soesbe, Taressa Soesbe, Tiffany GoodShield, Jacob Quinn, Jason Quinn, and Jeremy Jacobson.

Interment was in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery in Gregory, SD. Kotrba-Smith Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Katherine Ann (King) Hannahs was born November 1, 1944, in Gregory, SD, to Kenneth and Gladys (Liegl) King. She was the oldest of five children (one of whom died in infancy). Katherine attended country school near their home just south of the Lyman-Gregory County line. She quit school during her sophomore year of high school to marry Alvin Hannahs. They were married December 16, 1959, in Burke, SD.

Alvin and Katherine lived in Gregory when their daughter Kathy Lynn was born on January 18, 1961. They lived in Gregory, Dallas, Winner, and Presho before moving to Palm Springs, CA, in 1961, where Kenneth Alvin was born on November 22, 1963. In 1964, they packed up and moved back to Gregory where their youngest Lana Mae was born on March 21, 1965.

Katherine worked many odd jobs while raising their children, including taking in ironing, babysitting, and night waitress. After the children started school and building their home in Dallas, she was Head Start driver, janitor at Mary Vale, and did house cleaning, painting and papering. Then she started as a janitor at the Farmers Coop Association in Dallas and worked her way up to assistant bookkeeper. She was a cook at the Cove Cafe for a time before starting as a bookkeeper at the Gregory Farmers Elevator. In 1982 they sold their home in Dallas and moved to Gregory where she continued to work as a bookkeeper until 2001 when she was hired as the manager of the Gregory Farmers Elevator through 2009 when her illness of COPD forced her to retire. She suffered from the disease the rest of her life.

Katherine passed away on June 16, 2024, at the Avera Gregory Healthcare Center at the age of 79 years.

She was preceded in death by her husband Alvin, parents, a sister and infant brother.

Katherine is survived by her three children: Kathy Lynn Quinn of Watertown, SD, Kenneth Alvin Hannahs, and Lana Mae Hannahs both of Gregory, SD; seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren; seven nieces; two brothers Raymond (Laurie) King of Morganton, NC, and Ronald (Carol) King of Grand Junction, CO; and many cousins and friends.