Click Here to View Funeral Service

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Laura E. Ketterling, age 98.  Laura passed peacefully on December 25, 20222 at the Jacobson Memorial Care Center in Elgin, ND.

Laura was born March 14, 1924, in Heil, ND, the daughter of Hayden and Ella (Schultz) Sebastian.  She grew up in Heil and attended Heil School through her freshman year.  A weekly train ticket carried her daily to Carson, ND, where she graduated from Carson High School in May, 1942.  She completed her education at Dickinson Normal School in the fall of 1942.

Laura married Elmer Ketterling on November 27, 1944, in Wibaux, MT.  They made their home on the Ketterling family farm, three miles south of Heil.  In addition to being a farm wife, mother, and gardener, she taught school in rural Hettinger County and later was a teaching assistant in Flasher and Elgin Public Schools.  Laura moved to Bismarck in 1991 and resided there until 2019 when she moved to the Jacobson Memorial Care Center.

A good waltz or polka would find Laura on the dance floor, a pastime she and her sisters thoroughly enjoyed.  She enjoyed reading, jigsaw puzzles, and playing cards with friends.  Laura also took a very active role in her community.  Christmas, her favorite holiday, found the farm filled with wonderful Christmas dinner smells and families gathering.  One of her greatest pleasures was spending time with her grandchildren.

Laura is survived by her children, Daniel Ketterling, Elgin, ND, Douglas Ketterling, Bismarck, ND, Elmer "Jeffery" Ketterling, Heil, ND and Steven Ketterling, Heil, ND; her grandchildren, Daniel Ketterling Jr., Victoria Siegel, Tammy Bell, Samantha Ketterling, Kathleen Ketterling, John Ketterling, Molly Allmon; seven great-grandchildren; her sister, Lucille "Leo" Nagel, Heil, ND; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her brothers, Hayden (Ora) and John (Viola) Sebastian; her sisters, Esther (Jake) Ferderer, Hazel (Alvin) Ketterling, Wilda (Benjamin) Ketterling, Mildred (August) Heyne, and Joan (Wilbert) Giese.

A memorial service will be held at 1:30 p.m. MT on Saturday, January 28, 2023 at Grace Reformed Church in New Leipzig, ND.  Inurnment will be held at a later date.