Kathleen Segerhammar Hurty

29 September 1933 — 12 January 2022

Ruth Kathleen Segerhammar was born in Council Bluffs Iowa, on September 29, 1933, the first child of Carl and Ruth Segerhammar. (17 minutes later her twin sister, Kathryn Anne, joined the family.) During her youth her family also lived in Longmont, Colorado, and they moved to Los Angeles, California in the late 1940s.

A graduate of Bethany College in Lindsborg Kansas, Kathleen began a career as an educator, a vocation that she would practice her entire life. She received a PhD in education from the University of California Berkeley, and in addition to her roles as a classroom teacher, and an elementary school principal, she also taught at the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in her sunset years. Her career also included service to the church. In addition to her career, Kathleen also served on several boards, including the Executive Board of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and on the board of Bethany College.

During her years at Bethany, Kathleen met David Hurty. He courted her and they were married on June 29, 1956, and moved to Tempe. During their 5 years in Arizona, the first three of their four children were born. Mark in 1957, Jon in 1959, and Krista in 1961. They moved to Santa Barbara in 1963 where Karla was born in 1967. After living in Oakland for 17 years, Dave and Kathleen moved to New York City where she worked first for the National Council of Churches leading the activities of Regional and Local Ecumenism, and then as executive director of Church Women United. In 2002, Dave and Kathleen moved back to Oakland.

Throughout their marriage Kathleen and Dave were eager travelers. Kathleen was often invited to speak on the topics of ecumenism, and women in the church. Her speaking engagements and their enthusiasm for travel took them all over the world. (Kathleen was a member of United Airlines Million Miler club!) Even as Dave struggled with the long term effects of Polio, Kathleen was a steady companion, pushing his wheelchair and wrestling their baggage without complaint. Proud of their Swedish heritage and blessed with family, relatives and many friends in Sweden, Sweden was a favorite destination. And in the mid 2000s they traveled to Gothenburg (Göteborg) to take delivery of a comfy Volvo station wagon.

Kathleen and Dave spent their last years together in a lovely condominium on the shore of Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland. Their home was a warm and welcoming destination for the many of the friends they made over the years in their world travels. When Dave died in May of 2021, Kathleen moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, to live next door to her twin sister Kathryn at New Mercer Commons. She was able to enjoy a few months with Kathryn and her family before her health began to decline. She passed away peacefully, taking her final breaths on the morning of January 12. Jon and Sonja were with her, and all of her children were able to speak with her by FaceTime during her final hours.

One of Kathleen's favorite phrases was "enjoy to the full!", and that is how she and her beloved Dave lived. Kathleen is survived by her 4 children, 7 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren.

• Mark and his wife Anna and their sons: Justin and his children Safiyeh, Haytham, and Diyar; Nathan and his wife Katherine, and their daughter Madeleine.
• Jon and his wife Sonja and their children: Kjerstin and her husband Dan; Jens.
• Krista and her husband Christer and their daughter Aurora.
• Karla and her husband Arnie and their children Kristofer and Annika.

Kathleen and Dave were buried together at Elmwood Cemetery in Lindsborg, Kansas following a memorial service at Bethany College on June 25, 2022.