Mary Margaret Kannenberg

After a long, fulfilling life Mary Margaret Kannenberg of Sentinel Butte, North Dakota, passed away May 20, 2015 with her family by her side at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Dickinson, North Dakota. A Visitation will be held from 9:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M. on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at the Silha Funeral Home in Beach, North Dakota. A Rosary Service will be held at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Beach. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church with Father Dan Berg officiating. Silha Funeral Home of Beach has been entrusted with the arrangements. Mary was born to Arthur and Linda (Freeman) Reinholz in Sentinel Butte with Dr. Lyons, their family doctor present. She attended rural school her first five years and then attended and graduated in Sentinel Butte. Mary was active in Glee Club, Dramatics and basketball. She often set, fixed and combed the ladies hair in town before school to earn enough change to be able to roller skate at the old town hall on Friday nights. After high school graduation, Mary went to work for Marie and Hank Trester. She cooked, washed and helped Marie with nine hired men, harvesting and farm work, along with their own family since Marie was expecting Boyd Sr. at the time. Mary earned enough money to pay her first semester tuition for college at Dickinson State Teachers College. She completed her sixty hour course that year so the following fall she accepted her first teaching job at rural school Bonnie View, north of Beach, with seventeen students in all eight grades. During this time, she stayed at Margaret Adam’s home one and a half miles from the school. She hiked morning and night and shoveled coal, built fires and hauled water. Mary taught there for two years and the next year at Lapla Ulfers School (all eight grades). Her students loved their fall, Christmas and spring programs and the parents were so supportive. She was always continuing her education at DSU, summers and weekends, so she had her Professional Certificate. The next two years she taught elementary grades in Sentinel Butte, grades 1-4 and High School Glee Club, Senior and Junior class plays, P.E. and basketball. She loved her profession, yet she spent one summer as a clothing sales lady in Appleton, North Dakota while staying with her grandparents and one summer as a top inspector at Boeings Air Craft in Seattle, Washington. While teaching at Ulfers she met her future husband, Fayne Everette Kannenberg. On August 30, 1947 they were united in marriage at St. Michael’s Church in Sentinel Butte. They spent that year in Eatonville, Washington where Mary taught second and third grades, this being a branch of the Tacoma Public Schools. Fayne worked in the lumber mills and in the spring they returned to Beach to farm. That fall she accepted the second grade teaching position in Beach which she taught for fifteen years. During these years, besides being her husband’s full time farm partner, she spent her time raising chickens, selling eggs, milking cows, selling milk, butchering, cattle raising and feeding calves. Mary completed her education, receiving her B.A. in August of 1962. On April 13, 1963 she had her daughter Marietta Faye. The next few years she was at home, however she taught one year at Alpha, all eight grades, to complete her Life Certificate. She then returned to teaching third grade in Beach for the next twenty-five years. Upon her retirement in 1995, Mary still continued to substitute teach at the Beach High School. She did that up until 2012 and during that time she had found a new love for teaching the higher grades. Mary was active in the community by being secretary and treasurer of Beach Friends of the Library, secretary of the American Legion Auxillary, Sodality Bible Study, president of the Kopper Kettle Club, City Public Library Board President, and Nation Youth Association Grant Award. Awards in her college arts and crafts, original holiday programs and received the volume and honors of Outstanding Leaders in elementary and secondary education award in 1976. She belonged to the college sorority Delta Kappa Gamma, North Dakota Reading Association and presented reading sessions “Fun Games That Teach” and “Let’s Make Reading Fun” at Kansas City, Kansas, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Fargo North Dakota, Bismarck, North Dakota, Dickinson, North Dakota, and Minot, North Dakota. She was a lifetime member of NDEA and NEA. Mary was a devoted teacher, wife, mother and grandmother. Mary is survived by her daughter, Marietta Faye Martin and her husband, Dave; grandchildren, Chalsea Rae and Alan James; and sister, Ruth Wright; niece, Linda Kuka; nephew, David Wright; and great nieces and nephews. Mary was preceded in death by her parents; brothers; her husband, and her husband Fayne’s parents. Memorials are preferred to Beach Public School to be used for furthering education. Remembrances and condolences can be shared with the family at: www.silhafuneralhomes.com.

Mary Margaret Kannenberg

May 20, 2015

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Mary Margaret Kannenberg

May 20, 2015

What We Do

Flowers & Gifts

Plan Ahead

About Us

Resources

Obituaries

Grief & Healing

Contact Information

365 Days of Grief Support