Katherine Elaine Arehart, 69, died Friday, September 20, 2019 at her home in Spearfish, SD.

"Kate" was born November 23, 1949, in Aberdeen, SD. Childhood was spent in Whitewood, SD and graduated with honors from Sturgis Brown High School in 1968.  On to Huron College, graduating in 1972 with a teaching degree.

Realizing teaching was not her true calling, she followed a lifelong dream and love of airplanes and enrolled in intense air traffic control schooling. Upon completion she learned there was a hiring freeze on and only two positions available to her – Mexico or Alaska.  Stating she didn't speak Spanish, Kate accepted the job in Anchorage, Alaska.  She packed her belongings, kitten, and a few spare parts and she drove out of Spearfish, headed for the trip up the old Alcan Highway with mother running behind her car shouting "You don't even know the where it is!!"

Her career in air traffic control spanned 20 years. Anchorage 1978-1980, Yakutat 1980-1986, Sitka FSS 1986-1988, Nome 1988-1990, Ontario Tower, CA 1990-1994, and then back to Anchorage 1994-2004.   In Nome, Kathy bought and flew a Cessna airplane.

Kathy was preceded in death by her parents; her youngest sibling, John Wayne Arehart in 2005; and nephew, Shannon Olon Rigsby in 2017.

She is survived by her sisters, Ruth Lynn Arehart, Idaho City, ID, and Cindy (Russ) Rigsby, Sturgis, SD; brother, H. David (Janelle) Arehart, Whitewood, SD; and four nieces and six nephews.

Services will be held at 10 am, Thursday, September 26, 2019 at Black Hills Funeral Home with Reverend Tom Martin officiating. Burial will follow at Whitewood Cemetery.

A memorial has been established at the Spearfish Meals on Wheels in the Treehouse Café.