OBITUARY...
Katherine D. Fagerland, 59, Rapid City, died of complications from cancer on Monday, Aug. 3, 2009 at home.

Kathy was born in 1949 in Sisseton to Raymond and Eleanor Opitz and came to Rapid City with her family in 1959. She graduated from Rapid City High School in 1968. She attended Black Hills State University and her course work emphasized Hotel Management and Photography.

She was married to Dell Johnson from 1970-1978 and they had one daughter, Jessica. Kathy was a devoted parent who, when charged with the difficult task of single-parenting, dedicated herself to ensuring she was surrounded by a tribe of women and mothers as she navigated her way through her young life.

After several years of searching for her “happily ever after,” she married the love of her life, her Prince Charming, Dan Fagerland in 1986. Together they had many adventures and shared an inspirational kind of love. Kathy had many interests including macrame’, photography, music, sewing, painting, gardening, fishing, boating, traveling and spending time with her many friends. One of her favorite past times included afternoons spent on the deck with her family and friends taking in the scent of the pines warmed by the sun, driving through the hills, or enjoying any sun-soaked day at the lake while sipping margaritas.
She was a daughter, a sister, a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a dear friend. She was a dedicated caregiver to her husband, Dan, for the years after his motorcycle accident. She touched the lives and hearts of so many and she will never be forgotten. Her presence will often be felt in the words of a song, in the sun dancing across the lake, in the pink-orange glow of a sunset, in the bloom of her garden, and in the eyes of her daughter.

Survivors include her beloved husband Daniel Fagerland; one daughter, Jessica Fenner and husband Jason Fenner; two grandsons, Jacob Fenner Wagner and Wyatt Fenner; nephews, Todd Paananen and Wesley Opitz; nieces, Jody Steele and Tina Opitz; her best friend and partner in crime, Brenda Young; and her dear lifelong friends, Deb Stewart, Margaret Joseph, Sherrie Anderson, Aletha Zens, Jan Lochridge-Long, Paula Lankutis and Jayce Hendricks.
She was preceded in death by her father, Raymond Opitz; her mother, Eleanor (Lehmann) Opitz; her brother, Ronnie Opitz; and her sister, Elmarie (Opitz) Paananen.