Rev. Dr. Cathi Braasch, Sts

Celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord and the life of Rev. Dr. Catherine I.H. Braasch, STS, will be Tuesday, September 22, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. at Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in rural Smithfield, Nebraska, with Rev. Jeff Cottingham, STS, and Rev. Daniel Landin officiating. Inurnment will be in the Hope Lutheran Cemetery in Gosper County, Nebraska. The service will be live streamed via the Hope Evangelical Church Facebook page at facebook.com/HopeLutheranChurchSmithfield . ( https://www.facebook.com/HopeLutheranChurchSmithfield )

Due to health concerns, regarding the COVID-19 pandemic; current CDC and Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services guidelines for Faith-Based Services and Gatherings will be followed.  The Braasch family sincerely encourages each person to make their decision whether to attend Cathi's services, based on the best interest of your health, and that of your community.

Rev. Dr. Catherine I.H. Braasch, 72 years of age, of rural Smithfield, and most recently serving in Fort Wayne, Indiana, passed away on Thursday, September 10, 2020, at Visiting Nurse Hospice Home Northeast in Fort Wayne, Indiana, following a courageous battle with cancer.

Catherine Irene was born Aug. 15, 1948, in Palo Alto, California, the oldest child of Robert Hanchett Hopkins Sr. and Donna Ethel (Anderson) Hopkins. When she was 11, she was placed with her foster parents, Harold and Katherine DeAlvarez, on their ranch in King City, California. She received her primary education from Bitterwater-Tully School in King City.

While with the DeAlvarez family, Cathi joined 4-H, and she was involved in agriculture for the rest of her life. She met her future husband, Leroy R.T. "Red" Braasch, when he was suggested to her as a possible cattle show judge, and they met for the first time in the show ring.

Cathi graduated from North Salinas (California) High School in 1966.

Cathi and Red were united in marriage on December 16, 1966, at Zion Lutheran Church in San Luis Obispo, California, while she was a student at Cal Poly. To this union one daughter, Sara, was born September 26, 1970.

Raised Mormon, Cathi's first exposure to the Lutheran church was at a Vacation Bible School. Red was a lifelong Lutheran, and Cathi was baptized April 16, 1967.

The family established a registered Suffolk sheep flock in 1973, and their sheep and cattle moved with them as the family followed Red's purebred cattle, ranching, and real estate career in California, Montana and Wisconsin.

Cathi completed a bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a master's degree at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Her career adapted with the family's moves. She shifted to full-time work in ministry in 1988.

She helped start a church in Montana, and at the time of the formation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, she worked in synod development in Washington and Idaho. She later worked in mission development in five western states and in several national positions with the ELCA in Chicago, including as executive director of the Women of the ELCA.

While in Illinois, she completed a master of divinity at the Lutheran School of Theology. She accepted a pastoral call to Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church near Smithfield, and she and Red bought a small ranch south of Smithfield. Pastor Cathi was ordained Dec. 21, 2003, at Hope.

Cathi retired from full-time ministry in 2011, then received her doctor of ministry degree in 2012 from the Graduate Theological Foundation of South Bend, Indiana. She served as an interim pastor with North American Lutheran Church congregations in Nebraska, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio before receiving a call to serve as development and strategic planning officer at the Lutheran Military Veterans and Families Ministries in Fort Wayne, where she also served in critical counseling and as a training team member.

She served in numerous positions in the NALC, including as a regent with the North American Lutheran Seminary in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, and had been an NALC bishop nominee in 2019. She was a subscribed member of the Society of the Holy Trinity.

Cathi maintained ownership of the Braasch Land & Livestock registered Suffolk sheep flock, under the care of Craig and Kendra Fleck in Brookings, South Dakota. She enjoyed quilting and volunteered with FFA on a local, state and national level. Cathi was a lifetime member of the FFA Alumni.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Red, in August 2016; her daughter, Sara (Braasch) Schmidt, in June 2016; her foster parents; her parents; and a brother, Robert "Hank" Hopkins Jr.

She leaves to celebrate her life; her foster siblings, Nell (DeAlvarez) Bernstein of Maxwell, California; Hal DeAlvarez of Santa Cruz, California; and Duane DeAlvarez of Superior, Wyoming; sister, Sally Hopkins of Whidbey Island, Washington; half-sister, Kenna Crane of Edmonds, Washington; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Ron and Bonnie Braasch of Rochester, Minnesota; son-in-law, Jim Schmidt of McCall, Idaho; and nephews, David Braasch of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and Jerry Braasch of Black Creek, Wisconsin.

A memorial book signing will be Monday, September 21, 2020, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church in rural Smithfield.

Memorial gifts are kindly suggested to the I Believe in the Future of Ag Program, designated to the BerMis FFA Chapter, c/o the Nebraska FFA Foundation; to Lutheran Military Veterans and Families Ministries; or to Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church.

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

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