RAPID CITY--Katherine Kathy Hengel, 81, died peacefully on Monday, May 26, 2008, at the Rapid City Regional Hospice House. Kathy was born on April 7, 1927, in Hot Springs to John and Donna Linehan. She was the youngest of six sisters, and grew up on the family ranch at Oglala, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Her early school years were spent in a one-room schoolhouse in Oglala, followed by high school at St. Agnes Academy in Alliance, Nebraska and college at the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, Minnesota. Kathys first jobs out of college were in Illinois and Connecticut, but she soon returned to Oglala to help care for her mother. During this time she taught at the Lone Man Day School in Oglala, and after a few years Kathy moved to Rapid City to teach, first at Horace Mann and then South Canyon elementary schools. In 1962, Kathys roommate introduced her to her future husband, Ray Hengel, and they were married in 1963. She retired from teaching shortly after they were engaged, and had one son, Andy. From then on she enjoyed her new career as a full-time mom, and in later years spent a great deal of time helping Ray in his architectural firm. Traveling was one of Kathys favorite activities, whether it was a cross-country trip to visit family, or a drive across the Western South Dakota prairie that she so loved. She also studied handwriting analysis, and although she never pursued it professionally, friends and family were always amazed at her skills. Her other hobby was cake decorating, which her family happily supported. In her final years, despite her diagnosis of cancer, she chose to simply enjoy each day as it came, and was thankful for a life blessed by family and friends. Kathy is survived by her husband, Raymond, in Rapid City; son and daughter-in-law, Andy and Terri, in Los Gatos, Calif.; and four sisters, Margaret Linehan, Holyoak, Mass., Eileen Casey, Fort Smith, Ark., Mary Benedum, Hudson, Fla., and Jean Palensky, Council Bluffs, Iowa. She was preceded in death by her parents, and one sister, Patricia Frey. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, June 1, with a Christian wake service at 7 p.m. at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home, 2700 Jackson Blvd. Mass of Christian burial will be offered at 10 a.m., Monday, June 2, at Blessed Sacrament Church, 4500 Jackson Blvd, with Father Dan Juelfs presiding. Burial will be at Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis. A memorial has been established for the Rapid City Regional Hospital Hospice House.