Kathryn Lavonne Berreth, 81, of Brookings, died peacefully in her sleep at her home early Saturday morning, Aug. 5, 2017, following a seven month battle with Stage Four cancer.
Visitation with the family will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 10, at the Rude’s Funeral Home in Brookings.
Kathryn (Carnahan) Berreth was born at McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls on Nov. 12, 1935, to Trevor and Thelma (Knutson) Carnahan. She attended Lincoln K-8 school and Washington High School, graduating in 1952. Her father was killed in an accident at John Morrell’s when she was 12 years old. Having always wanted to be a nurse, she was encouraged by her widowed mother to go to nursing school. She was a graduate of Presentation School of Nursing in Sioux Falls and during early years of marriage worked as a surgical nurse at McKennan and later worked in the Chamberlain (SD) Hospital as well as in San Diego, Calif., while her husband served in the U.S. Navy.
While at a state basketball tournament in Huron in 1954 she met SDSU student James Berreth of Eureka and the couple was married on Dec. 30, 1956, at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Dec. 30, 2016, just three days after Kathryn was diagnosed with Stage Four cancer.
She is survived by her husband, James; three daughters--Julie (V.J.) Ackerwold Smith of Brookings, Jan Bee of St. Clair, Mich., and Jennifer (Geoff) George of Minnetonka, Minn..; one son, James David (J.D.) Berreth of Brookings; nine grandchildren, Dan (Tina) Ackerwold and Laura Ackerwold of Brookings, Tom Ackerwold of Eureka, Blake and Linzi Breuhan of Florida, Goldie Breuhan of St. Clair, Mich., Sidney Berreth of Minneapolis, Minn., and Flannery and Trevor Berreth of Brookings: three step-grandchildren, Molly (Nick) Goodier of St. Paul Minn., Kelly (Adam) Ganrud of Cannon Falls Minn., and Mary Cecile Smith of Red Wing Minn.; brother, Richard Carnahan of Sioux Falls; brother-in-law Gary (Kim) Oster of Eureka and sister-in-law Donna Berreth of Atlanta, Ga.: niece and nephews Emily and Nowell Berreth of Georgia and Nathan (Julie) Oster of Greybull, Wyo. and Stuart (Erin) Oster of Harrisburg: nephews and nieces, Heather (Shawn) Matz of Timnath, Colo., Susan (Jeremy) Anacker of Chancellor and Patrick Carnahan of Rapid City. Preceding her in death were her parents, and sister-in-laws Diane Carnahan and Carolyn Oster.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Kathryn L. (Carnahan) Berreth Nursing Scholarship at South Dakota State University, or choice. A private family gathering will follow the visitation and a burial service will be held at the Eureka cemetery at a future date. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.rudesfuneralhome.com,
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