Kathryn Louise Bittermann

Born Kathryn Louise Neth in Hannibal, Missouri, Kathryn passed away in her sleep early Sunday, February 26, 2017, in her apartment at the Brookdale Assisted Living Center in Bedford, Texas. Born January 26, 1919, she had just turned 98 years old last month. She was in her teens and working for the telephone company when she met Russell Bittermann, an electrical engineer, at a regional meeting of the Walther League, a youth group of the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod. They were married in her hometown, Hannibal, Missouri, on August 24, 1940, and took up residence in her husband’s birthplace, Joliet, Illinois. Two years later, in April, 1942, their first child, Karla was born. There would be three more children, John, Jim and David. In 1949 the family moved from Joliet to Waukegan, Illinois where she ran the household while her husband worked at the local electrical plant. She was an active member of the Redeemer Lutheran Church in Waukegan…where she would later work as the church secretary. But both...