Elizabeth Jane (Betty) Kaltenbach

Elizabeth Jane (Betty) Kaltenbach was born July 3, 1931 in Crofton, NE to Joseph and Frances (Eckholt) Perk. She died on Monday, July 10, 2023 in Sioux Falls, SD at the age of 92 years and one week. 
Betty was raised in Crofton, NE where she attended school. She met Kenneth Rodger Kaltenbach when he was on the way home from the service in Crofton. Betty and Ken were united in marriage on June 15, 1954. Ken was the love of her life and they were blessed with 65 years of wedded bliss and seven children. 
They settled in Beresford, SD to raise their family.  Betty became an Emergency Medical Technician in 1972 and was a part of the Beresford Ambulance team. She served as President of the South Dakota Emergency Medical Technician Association (SDEMTA), a member of the SDEMTA District II having held offices in that District, as well as the National EMT Association. Betty was the first recipient of the SDEMTA Lifetime Membership which is only granted to five members per year and voted on by the SDEMTA Executive Council. She put on her first EMT training class in 1973 and held classes every year for District II until 1985.  Betty also served as Union County Coroner. Mom loved to dance and enjoyed teaching others. She always had a full dance card.  Betty enjoyed playing softball on a women’s team in Beresford. She was a member at St. Teresa Catholic Church and she taught CCD to the second-grade class for many years and also high school catechism. Betty was a very dedicated wife and mother to her children and she could always be counted on to be there for her family. She was always the calm in an emergency. Her children were the joy and light of her life and being a grandmother intensified that joy. She always loved the generational pictures with her kids and their children as they came into the world. She was always ready with a hand embroidered baby blanket for each new arrival. She enjoyed quilting and embroidery projects and made quilts for graduations and weddings as well as hundreds embroidered dishtowels. She was an avid reader, Christmas village and doll collector along with Ken’s animal collection. Betty was a great woman of faith and also put her faith and trust in God and prayed for her family and friends each day.
Betty is survived by her children, Debborah (Robert) Haas, Beresford, SD; Fred (Janel Short) Kaltenbach, Canton, SD; Lu (Kirk) Johnson, New Richmond, WI; Nancy Kaltenbach, Maplewood, MN; Tim (Tammy Loneman) Kaltenbach, Ree Heights, SD; Ben (Teresa Hisel) Kaltenbach Beresford, SD; Karol West, Sioux Falls, SD; and Rockie West, Sioux Falls, SD; 15 grandchildren, Mike (Sherry) Haas, Nicole (Eric) Saue, Thomas (Anna) Haas, Kayla Kaltenbach and her finance’ Joseph English, Stephanie (John) Felix, Tara Johnson, Emily Kaltenbach and her fiancé Brett Haakenson, Tyler Kaltenbach, Casey (Troy) Duxbury, Brett (Sara) Kaltenbach, Britta (Caleb) Berry, Trista Kaltenbach, Ryan West and his fiancé Heather Richardson, Katie (Luke) Bishop and Rachael (Dustin) Carnes. Also surviving are her 20 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandchild, two sisters, Jenita Baltzar and Patricia (Marv) Kuchta; and her brother, Eugene Perk. 
Betty is now reunited in heaven with her husband, Kenneth; her parents, and her siblings, Lucian “Bud” (Ann Louise) Perk, Clarabelle (Ralph) Kleinschmit, Mary Lou (Anthony) Goeden, Donna (Gerald) Steckler, Robert Perk, Anna (Dennis) Sweeney and Bernella (Del) Simmons. 
Mass of Christian burial will be at 2PM Saturday, July 15, 2023 at St. Teresa Catholic Church in Beresford, SD. Visitation will be two hours prior to the Mass at the church. wassfuneralhome.com