Funeral services for Cora Lena Kahl, age 83, of Isabel, SD will be Thursday, March 13, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. at the Isabel Community Center. Pastor Stephen Wright will officiate and burial will follow at the Hillview Cemetery in Isabel. Visitation will be Wednesday March 12th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the United Church of Christ in Isabel. A gathering of family and friends will be at 7:00 pm at the church Wednesday evening.

In Strong, Maine, on August 8, 1924 Bertha (Brown) McIntyre and Francis Ernest McIntyre gave birth to a baby girl, Cora Lena McIntyre. Cora graduated from Buckfield High School in 1942 and later graduated from CMG Hospital School of Nursing.


In the late 1930's and early 1940's the United States was on the edge of World War II and Lena remembered that everyone had to take some part in the war effort. Knitting sweaters and socks, and working for the Red Cross was the call for Cora. She also worked by taking food and water to the soldiers on the trains. Cora met Keith Lavern Kahl, a World War II Navy Veteran in Portland, Maine. They were married on Aug 4, 1944 at Virginia Beach, Virginia. In the spring of 1945, Lena graduated from nursing school and the couple moved to Big Springs, Nebraska. While in Nebraska, Cora worked as a registered nurse in a rural hospital and Keith farmed and ranched on his family's land. Lena would give birth to two children, Calvin and Brenda.


In 1960 the Kahl family moved to Isabel, SD and continued to farm at their new home. Cora enjoyed visiting with friends and family, was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and the Legion Auxiliary and was affectionately known as "Isabel's Nurse" as she often cared for many cuts, scrapes, and bruises suffered by residents throughout the years.


Cora Lena Kahl passed away at the Mobridge Regional Hospital March 7, 2008.

Lena is survived by her son, Calvin, Isabel, SD; daughter, Brenda Jensen, Duluth, MN; two grandchildren Nicolle Hendrix, Rochester, MN, Merretta Kahl, Isabel SD, and 2 step grandsons, Tim Jensen, Ellendale, ND and James Jensen, Aberdeen, SD.


Lena was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Keith, three brothers, Horace, Howard, and Charles; one sister, Glenne Richardson; and daughter-in-law Maxine Kahl.