Dorothy Katherine Bade, 90, of Rapid City, SD (formerly of New Ulm and Mankato, MN) was taken home to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday, February 12, 2015 at Hospice of the Hills in Rapid City.

Dorothy Katherine Bachmann was born October 26, 1924 in Crawford, Nebraska to Julius H. and Louise D. K. (Brehm) Bachmann. Dorothy spent several summers in the hospital as a child undergoing orthopedic surgeries due to polio at age 9 months. She graduated from Crawford High School in 1942. During WWII, Dorothy worked in the defense industry in Omaha, NE, and Oakland, CA. Later she was a civilian employee of the Army at Fort Robinson, Nebraska and then a telephone operator for Northwestern Bell in Crawford. Dorothy married Herbert Bade on June 3, 1956 in Crawford, NE. They made their home in New Ulm, MN and Long Prairie, MN before moving to Mankato in 1968. While raising her family, she also worked for the Dotson Company in Mankato. Dorothy had a lot of passions in life including her interest in politics. She was active in the Republican Party in Blue Earth County, Minnesota and Pennington County, South Dakota. In 1992 Dorothy was a Republican candidate for the Minnesota State Legislature. She moved to Rapid City in 2003. Dorothy was a member of Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Mankato.

Dorothy is survived by her daughter, Priscilla Bade of Rapid City, SD; sons, Ralph (Kathy) Bade of Mankato, Paul Bade of Mankato, Lawrence (Natasha) Sutliff Bade of South Saint Paul, MN; grandchildren, Nicole Volk, Tara Kortz, Frank Bade, and Micah and Kyra Sutliff-Bade; great-grandchildren, Alex and Keegan Volk, and Kayden and Arianna Kortz; sister, Helen Wilson of Woodstock, Georgia.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Herbert Herman Bade who died in 1987, and brothers Julius J. T. Bachmann, Robert Bachmann, and Donald Bachmann.

Visitation will be 2 – 4 p.m. Sunday, February 22 and 7:30 – 10 a.m. Monday, February 23 at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home, SOUTH CHAPEL in New Ulm, MN.

The funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Monday, February 23 at the Minnesota Valley Funeral Home, SOUTH CHAPEL in New Ulm, MN with Pastor Robert Mehltretter officiating. Burial will follow in St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery in New Ulm. A memorial gathering in Rapid City is planned for this summer.