Corinne "Kitty" Engelstad

Corinne Agnes "Kitty" Engelstad peacefully passed away on the 26th of January, 2018, at St. Vincent's, a Prospera Community. Her family graciously acknowledges all of her care givers over the last 20 years as she faced Alzheimer's disease complicated by ocular melanoma resulting in enucleation of the eye. As she lived her life she maintained her gracious manner with sparkling expression and extraordinary, steadfast perseverance. Mass of Christian Burial will be at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, February 3 at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 519 Raymond St., Bismarck, with Rev. Greg Luger officiating. Visitation will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, February 2, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Parkway, Bismarck with a vigil and rosary service starting at 7 p.m.  Visitation will continue for one hour prior to the service at the church on Saturday.   Burial will be held at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Bismarck. Kitty is survived by her loving family: son Blaine Francis Engelstad (Carla), Mandan, ND; daughter Mary Beth Palmer (Howard), Minot, ND; twins Daniel Paul Engelstad, Bismarck, ND; Diane Lynn Randall, Aberdeen, SD,9 grandchildren,5 great-grandchildren, a brother-in-law. She was born May 3, 1930, second child to Cornelius Edward Koch and Rucille Lenore (Rust) in Isabel, SD. Music has been an integral part of Corinne’s life. Her father "Daddy" played the saxophone with the Lawrence Welk band. "Mother" was one of many relatives who played the piano. Her sister, born in 1932 was named for Aunt Irma, a music teacher in Alaska in WWII. The family relied on and shared their musical gifts to ease the hard times of these Depression years. World War II brought the Koch family to Portland, OR, to work in the defense industries. While Grandmother Ida joined them to care for the girls, her mother went to work as “Rucille the Welder”. Little known is Corinne was quite athletic and her tom-boy antics met with stern reproof from this maternal grandmother.By 1944 the family moved to Bismarck, where Corinne introduced herself as “Kitty”, which she used professionally and is best known by all, today.  She became a leader in the BHS class of 1948, and was elected to the first Flickertail Girl State in 1947, and was co-editor of the yearbook. Following graduation she headed to St. Paul, MN, to the College of St. Catherine where she made many dear friends. There were many "Firsts" in Kitty's life. Her first job was teaching music in Watford City, ND, where she met Melvin Olaf Engelstad, a fellow teacher. End of that school year, they were married June 27, 1953 and moved to the Engelstad homestead in Arnegard, ND. First for Kitty was family. Not able to have children biologically, they adopted all four children through Catholic Charities of North Dakota. After serving in Watford City public school, they traded the rural commute for the city life of Williston, ND in 1962. In the early years, Kitty provided background music at the Williston Elks Club. She taught English at St Joseph Elementary School, and for next 14 years, Kitty also served as organist and Parish music/liturgy director. She was active in the CCD program, served on the parish council, and was a founding officer of the Bismarck Diocesan Pastoral Council. She was involved with the Thursday Musical and Community Concert groups. Her accompaniment for local productions of “Hello Dolly”, “Show Boat”, “Mikado”, and annual Christmas favorite “Amahl & the Night Visitors”, drew many accolades. In addition she played for weddings, funerals, variety shows, and other ceremonies, often as a volunteer. In 1974, Kitty became the first woman to be installed as Eucharistic Minister and first lay delegate to attend a National Conference of Catholic Bishops. This paved way to being appointed as Executive Director of the North Dakota Catholic Conference (NDCC). She was the first laywoman in the nation to be appointed to such a position. She met with the United States Catholic Conference of bishops on a regular basis to receive briefing on issues important to the Church. She was a member of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors and co-hosted their 1983 national convention. As a lobbyist for the state's two Catholic bishops, she worked with legislators and executive leaders to enact policies and laws for the common good ND citizens. She testified in behalf of the Catholic constituency in each of the six legislative sessions as Executive Director of NDCC, from which she retired December 31, 1987. The state of North Dakota recognized her leadership in the Vietnamese Resettlement Program in 1974, the Governor's Statehouse Conference On Families in 1980 and Governor's Coalition for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect in 1984. Actively involved in the North Dakota Right to Life Association, Kitty organized chapters in Williston and Bismarck and chaired state conventions in 1978 and 1983. She has served on the board of directors and executive committee and in 1985, was given a distinguished service award for her "outstanding contributions to the pro-life movement and for her loving and tireless efforts in behalf of the unborn." Kitty served on the Bismarck Diocesan Liturgical Commission, The Catholic Family Service Board, and was a member of the North Dakota Conference of Churches from 1976, having served as vice-president in 1981-1982. Recorded in Spot Lights Newsletter of the North Dakota Catholic Conference Vol 1 no.3 "In announcing the resignation, Engelstad said, 'I leave with a great deal of self satisfaction and am still in love with the job. I have enjoyed this work and find myself aglow from the appointment way back in September of 1975. It has not been an easy decision,' she said, 'however I have other dreams and things that I wish to do.' It was the right decision, as sadly, in such a short time, July 18,1988, she lost the love of her life Melvin. Also, preceding her, in death were her parents, her infant brother Gaylon Koch, her sister Irma Jean (Scharenbroich), and grandson Thomas Martin Palmer. Memorials may be sent to Catholic Charities of North Dakota, Alzheimer's Association, North Dakota Chapter and/or North Dakota Right to Life.