Katha Hartsell, of Cassopolis

Published 10:07 am Monday, February 27, 2017

Katha Aileen Hartsell, 70, passed away peacefully at home Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017, with her family by her side after a long struggle with Alzhiemer’s and Parkinson’s.

Katha was born in South Bend, Indiana, on July 20, 1946, the daughter of Lloyd and Aileen (Glaser) Rerick. After moving with her family to Diamond Lake in Cassopolis at the age of 8, she graduated with highest honors from Cassopolis High School in 1964. She married her high school sweetheart, Larry L. Hartsell, on June 11, 1966, in Cassopolis, where they made their home and raised their family. Her most recent employment was at Cass County Medical Care Facility, where she served as Human Resource Director from 1991 to 2009.

Katha Hartsell

A follower of Jesus and our heavenly Father, Katha was strong in her faith and loved Jesus! She attended Cassopolis United Methodist Church as well as Penn Friends Community Church.

Katha enjoyed time with her children and grandchildren, family gatherings, church, faith and prayer, DeColores weekends, Bible study groups, breakfast with friends, collecting nativities, taking pictures, traveling and everything outdoors — the lake, the beach, fishing, hiking, snowmobiling, swimming and, in her earlier years, water skiing.

Katha will be remembered as a wife, a mother, a sister, a grandmother, an aunt and a friend, as well as for her devotion to family and friends, her strong faith and her work ethic — she was known to put others before herself.

Katha will be greatly missed by family and friends. She is survived by her husband and caretaker of more than 50 years, Larry L. Hartsell; their four children, Heather (Javon) White of Edwardsburg, Angela Hartsell (Jason Winn) of Famagusta on the Island of Cyprus, Kristi (Benjamin) Ngoma of Noblesville, Indiana, and Brian (Tammy) Hartsell of Fife Lake, Michigan; nine grandchildren, Kode Hartsell, Kristian Ngoma, Austen Hartsell, Javon White II, Jabulani Ngoma, Isaac White, Lydia Ngoma, Savanna Hartsell and Mason White; her loving sister, Charlene (Mike) Hiemstra of Cassopolis; her brother, Bruce (Arla) Rerick of Clearwater, Florida; cousin Pam (Bob) Barrett of Fort Wayne, Indiana; many nieces and nephews; her special friends; and “Katha’s Breakfast Club.”

She was predeceased by her father and mother, Lloyd and Aileen Rerick.

Family and friends gathered at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017, until the celebration of Katha’s life at 2 p.m. at Cassopolis United Methodist Church, 209 S. Rowland St., Cassopolis, (parking on both S. Rowland and S. O’Keefe streets) with the Rev. Sandy Wallen of Anderson, Indiana, officiating. The service was followed by a dinner in the Fellowship Hall of the church.

The family prefers memorial donations in Katha’s memory be made to Caring Circle Hospice at Home, 4025 Health Park Lane, Saint Joseph, MI 49085, or, Northwestern Memorial Foundation – Alzheimers Disease Research Center, 251 E. Huron St., Ste. 3-200, Chicago, IL 60611.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Connelly Chapel Wagner Family Funerals in Cassopolis.

Please share a memory or a message online at wagnercares.com.