September 23, 1936 - January 26, 2023
Mass of Christian Burial for Katherine Severin will be 1:00pm Thursday, February 2, 2023 at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Goltry with Reverend Mark Mason officiating. Burial will follow in St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery, Goltry. Services are under the direction of Henninger-Hinson Funeral Home. Recitation of the Rosary will be 6:00pm Wednesday, February 1, 2023 at the funeral home with Deacon Tony Crispo officiating. Visitation with family and friends will follow the Rosary at 6:30pm until 8:00pm.
Katherine was born September 23, 1936 on a farm north of Crescent, OK, the daughter of Elmer and Eva Williams. She passed away January 26, 2023, at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Enid, OK, at the age of 86, after a brief bout with old age.
Her sister LaVerne was born almost exactly a year after her, and the two of them had some rather unbelievable adventures throughout their youth. The girls kept many of these events “secret”, shared just between them. But what stories they did tell their families were quite remarkable.
Their mom, Eva, died when the girls were young. Eva’s death brought great challenges to the girls but these tragedies forged an even stronger bond between the two sisters.
Katherine attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Enid, Mount Carmel Academy in Wichita right after her mom’s death, back to St. Joseph’s, and then graduated from Carrier High School in 1954. She enjoyed attending several class reunions throughout the years and delighted in keeping up with the gossip of former schoolmates.
Katherine and R. J. Severin became engaged on Christmas Eve, 1959, on their way to Midnight Mass at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Goltry. They were united in marriage on May 14, 1960, at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Enid. They were blessed with two children, Charolette and Ronnie. She and R.J. moved to their farm home just months after their marriage. Katherine lived there the remainder of her life.
Katherine had a “pull up your boot straps and get to work” mentality, formed by some of the events of her youth. They forged in her a toughness, a stubbornness, and a self-reliance which served her well throughout her life. She was an elevator operator in the Broadway Tower in Enid, she worked in the accounting department at Champlin Petroleum, served as school secretary at Helena-Goltry School, and worked as an Election Official at Goltry. She became head cook at the Helena-Goltry (later Timberlake) School cafeteria in the 1990’s. She had so much fun with her coworkers there and received great joy from serving the students and staff. She later worked at Sidwell Insurance Agency in Goltry.
Her favorite and longest lasting job was being a farmer’s wife and homemaker. She was R. J.’s right-hand-woman. She drove the wheat truck and the tractor, did chores, raised chickens, sold eggs, gardened, canned, cooked, sewed, and kept up with farm accounting. When R.J. began checking oil wells, she recorded the measurements for delivery information to the owners, first by hand and delivering them by mail, later by computer input delivery. She drove Charolette to years of piano lessons and attended too numerous to mention stock show events and football games that Ronnie participated in.
She adored her three grandchildren and never turned down a babysitting opportunity. She and R.J. rarely missed attending the grandchildren’s sporting events, VBS programs, graduations, piano recitals, plays, and FCCLA events. When the grandkids grew up and moved to various places across the state and U.S., she missed them greatly and prayed for them daily. She was Grandma Katherine, even to the three great-grandchildren she was blessed with in her final years.
Katherine was a life-long Catholic. She was a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Goltry for nearly 63 years. She was a member of the Altar Society, took her turn at washing and ironing altar linens, co-taught Catechism classes to the church youth, helped host bridal and baby showers, and served numerous funeral lunches.
She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, R.J.; her parents; an infant brother; three nieces and one nephew.
Katherine is survived by daughter, Charolette Buller and husband, Jon of Ringwood; son, Ronnie Severin of Goltry; grandchildren, Luke Buller and wife, Julianna of Meno; Leah Buller of Arlington, Virginia; Emily Campbell and husband, Ben of Tulsa; great-grandchildren, Bernadette Buller and Clara and Levi Campbell; sister, LaVerne Winebrenner and husband, Bob of Hurst, Texas; sister-in-law, Janice Severin of Goltry and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorial donations in Katherine’s name may be given through the funeral home to St. Michael’s Cemetery Fund.
Obituaries are posted, in part, due to the generosity of The Commons.
A United Methodist Retirement Community
Tours: 301 S. Oakwood | (580) 237-6164
Enid's Only Faith-based, Not-For-Profit, Complete Continuous Care Community. Including Long Term Care, Skilled Nursing, Memory Care, Assisted Living, Independent Living Apartments and Townhomes.
