Kathleen "Kathy" Ann Rickertsen

Kathleen “Kathy” Ann Rickertsen, 66 of California, formerly of St. Paul, died unexpectedly in California on June 30, 2022.

Services will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, July 23, 2022 at the United Methodist Church in St. Paul. Pastor Susan Murithi will be officiating. A Private Family Burial will be in the Elmwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the family to be designated at a later date. Jacobsen-Greenway-Dietz Funeral Home in St. Paul is assisting the family.

Kathy was born on June 27, 1956 in Lexington, Nebraska to Harold & Mary Ann (Sorensen) Rickertsen. She attended a rural school in Dawson County. In 1967 the family moved to their farm near St Paul NE. She attended public school and graduated from St. Paul High School in 1974. While there she participated in band, choir, track, volleyball and basketball. Another activity was being a member of the Busy Bees and Rounders 4-H clubs. She was confirmed in the St Paul United Methodist Church where she was active in choir, youth group, and church camps. After High School she attended Nebraska Wesleyan University graduating in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education. While in college she participated on Wesleyan’s first women’s basketball team. After four years of basketball, she played one year of volleyball and softball. She was also involved in choir and women’s chorus.

After college she taught physical education and coached girls’ volleyball and basketball in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska. Kathy and her good friend, Mary decided to go to Portland, Oregon where she worked for nine months before returning to Nebraska. She worked in Omaha for a year and then to Mankato, Minnesota for about three years. The city of Minneapolis was her next destination and became her home for the next four years. Her last move was to San Francisco, California for thirty years.  Rainbow Store was her last job after working for a fresh fruit and vegetable warehouse. While at the warehouse her job assignment was to deliver the produce in San Francisco and the neighboring towns.  She loved her job at Rainbow where she worked the dock, drove a fork lift, and helped with stocking the store. She was a kind and caring person who was always willing to lend a helping hand.

Kathy had a passion for writing & poetry. Her hobbies included playing the guitar and singing, following her sports teams (the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco Giants), riding motorcycles, and being with her family and friends.

Those left to cherish her memory include her parents, Harold and Mary Ann Rickertsen of St. Paul; brother and sister-in-law, John & Jennifer Rickertsen of Hettinger ND; sister and brother-in-law, Sally & Edward Heusinkvelt of Lexington; and her “German sister” (foreign exchange student from Germany), Monika (Steger) Baller of Germany; five nieces and two nephews; six great-nieces and four great-nephews.  She is also survived by close friends, Diana and Denise; and her cat, Dennis.
Kathy was preceded in death by her grandparents, Fred Sorensen, Hazel Sorensen, Henry Rickertsen, Edna Rickertsen, and Eva Rickertsen.

Services will be live streamed on the United Methodist Church Facebook page.