Kathy “Kat” “Beaver” Smith, 71, of Quimby passed away in her home on Sept. 24, 2026, after a short battle with cancer.
Memorial service will be 10:30 a.m on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Quimby Baptist Church with Pastor Dan Barnes officiating. Burial will follow at Grandview Cemetery in Quimby. Visitation with family present will be from 5-7 p.m. on Friday at the church. Services have been entrusted to Fisch Funeral Home & Monument in Marcus.
Kathy Ann Brodersen, daughter of Norman “Bud” Brodersen and Della (Wilberding) Brodersen, was born Septe. 30, 1954, in Cherokee. She was raised and educated in Cherokee and graduated from Washington High School in 1972. On May 27, 1978, Kat married Daniel “Bear” Smith at Immaculate Conception Church in Cherokee. They made their home in Quimby.
She loved to spoil her grandchildren with endless sugar, love and fun. She had no problem playing football, jumping on the trampoline, taking trips to the gas station or spending countless hours sharing banter and laughter with them. She taught many neighborhood kids to pump their arms at every single trucker who drove by her house.
Kat enjoyed sitting on the front porch often providing many hours of conversation, laughter, verbal therapy and advice to those who sought it. During the annual Quimby Watermelon Days celebration, you could find her at the Bingo stand and then enjoying the cake walk. On Halloween she was famous for her popcorn balls, her spicy beans, and saying, “Take two, they’re small.”
In her downtime, you could find Kat relaxing in her recliner, watching her favorite shows, including reruns of CSI and NCIS (partly due to her secret affection for Lieutenant Horatio Caine and Special Agent Gibbs). She loved the color blue, wind chimes and cats. Kat was a selfless, endearing and endlessly helpful woman. She was sentimental by nature and nurturing down to her very core.
Kat is survived by her son Jamie (special friend Marilyn) of Cherokee; her grandchildren: Matthew, Daniel and Lane; special friend of eight years, Dan Tuttle of Quimby; special daughter Liz (Shawn) Twiford; her adoptive son Jerry (Amber) Flewelling of Quimby; sister Betty Haselhoff of Cherokee; brother Ben Brodersen of Quimby, sisters-in-law: Georgia Brodersen of Paullina; and Cathy Smith (Bill Stover) of Quimby; nieces and nephews: Katie (Budd) Fredricks, Leia (Jim) Kruger, Jason (Tonya) Haselhoff, Jeff (Susan) Haselhoff, Jay (Mandy) Brodersen; many great-nieces and nephews. The adopted brats: Karman, Lars, Hunter, Ryder, Dillon, Casandra, Miles, Jessee, Joe Dirt, Luke, Twinky, Nicole, Rachel, Coy, Colby, Corbyn, Creyden, Caleyn, Anthony, Clarsie, Taylor, Lana and Jacob; and countless other brats.
She was preceded in death by her husband Dan in 2010; her parents; her brother Bob Brodersen; in-laws, Leland and Catherine (Curtis) Smith; brother-in-law Glen Haselhoff; and many friends.
