Bessie C. "Kate" Willits

A Private Inurnment for B. Catherine "Kate" Willits will be held at the Prairie Home Cemetery, Holdrege, Nebraska.

Bessie Catherine "Kate" (Dixon) Willits, 93 years of age, of Grand Island, Nebraska, and formerly of Hastings, Nebraska, and Holdrege, Nebraska, passed away on Tuesday, September 26, 2024, at CHI Health St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island.  Kate was born in Holdrege, on March 8, 1931, one of four children born to Alvin and Helen (Jackson) Dixon. Kate received her primary education from Stromsburg Public Schools and then attended and graduated from Stromsburg High School with the class of 1948. She did course work in Medical Records and graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, with a Bachelor's Degree in Health Services Administration.

On February 11, 1949, she was united in marriage to Ralph DeVerne Willits in Holdrege, and this union was blessed with four daughters:  Vikki, Nancy, Tammy, and Julie.  The family made their home in Polk County, where Kate worked at Annie Jeffrey Hospital in Osceola, many years.

Kate enjoyed puzzles, sewing, cooking and baking.  She was a member of the Daughters of the Republic.

Kate was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Ralph; and sister, Helen Givens.

Survivors include her four daughters and their families:  Vikki Robinson and her husband, Ken of Hastings, Nebraska; Nancy Monnier and her husband, Randy of Lincoln, Nebraska; Julie Spires of Grand Island; and Tammy Smith and her husband, James of Hastings; seven grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; brother, George Jacobson; sister, Winnie Nelson and husband, Paul of Cleveland, Ohio; and a brother-in-law, Richard Givens of Salem, Oregon; and many nieces, nephews, and extended family who loved her dearly.

There will be no visitation or memorial book signing. The family has honored her wish for cremation.

Memorial contributions may be directed to the family for later designation.

Expressions of caring and kindness can be sent to the family at www.nelsonbauerfh.com

The Nelson-Bauer Funeral Home in Holdrege is in charge of the arrangements.