Gay Kline Obituary (1949 - 2023) - Mandan, North Dakota

Gay Kline, 73, passed away unexpectedly Thursday, March 16, 2023, at Edgewood Vista, Mandan, ND. Memorial Services will be held at 5:00 PM, Monday, April 24, 2023, at DaWise-Perry /Mandan Crematory, 4211 Old Red Trail, Mandan with Rev. Phil Leer officiating. Family and friends will gather one hour prior to the service. Per her wishes, cremation has taken place. Gay was born August 22, 1949, in Beulah, ND to Elroy and Mabel (Pozarnsky) Herman. Gay and her twin sister Gwyn had the honor of being the last babies born in the Beulah Hospital before its closing. Gay grew up in Beulah, graduating from Beulah High School in 1967 and went on to Dickinson State College where she earned a nursing degree. She worked her entire career in this profession, first at the Elgin Hospital, then at Beulah Community Nursing Home, and finally in Bismarck at Sanford Hospital (formerly Bismarck Hospital and Medcenter One), where she worked for 30 years. Throughout her nursing career, Gay worked in several specialized fields, including Medical-Surgical, Orthopedics, and Neurology. She was also involved in staff education, instructing Nursing Skills Lab classes, diabetic education classes, and mentoring nursing students and new staff members. Gay was a member of the National Orthopedic Association, and for over a decade served terms as president and secretary-treasurer of the Association. She also served as Medcenter One Administrative Associate. She was certified in Trauma Nursing and was a Certified Designated Receiver of organ-tissue donations, as well as being a Certified CPR provider. Gay continually pursued professional development and obtained the advanced degree of Clinical Ladder II. She then served as a Sanford Hospital House Supervisor. During a prior marriage, Gay had one son Justin Honrath. In 1979, she married Al Kline and became stepmother to four more sons, whom she adored. As her five sons grew up and established families of their own, Gay acquired grandchildren. Justin was Gay's pride and joy, and he always did whatever he could to please his "Mumzie"! Gay's favorite hobbies were reading, baking cookies, and gardening - particularly flowers and tomatoes. She was widely known for her generosity in sharing freshly baked cookies, and during the time she lived at Edgewood Vista, her apartment was always enriched by her weekly purchase of aromatic fresh flowers. Gay also loved games and was a serious and fierce competitor, both as player and spectator, and she liked to win! In 15 years of Farkel competition against twin Gwyn, Gay happily ended up with the overall trophy, surpassing her opponent by a total of 29 games. For many years, Gay and Al also made weekly forays to Prairie Knights Casino, which they both enjoyed. During football season, Gay kept a close watch on every NFL team and was a purveyor of knowledge concerning schedules, players, and statistics. She was a dyed-in-the-wool Vikings fan whose game watching would typically be punctuated by raucous outbursts of salty exclamations. She had favorites on every team, but she really loved her Vikings! Since 2005, Gay braved through numerous serious health challenges related to her Type 1 diabetes, which had been diagnosed at age three. Throughout her life, she managed her blood glucose levels optimally with a vigilant and tenacious determination that enabled her to live a rich and full life with perfect eyesight, kidneys, and skin sensitivity. Even in her last years when a coma and critical illnesses would strike her down temporarily, she would keep bouncing back to health like the "Ever-ready Bunny"! In February 2022, Gay moved to Edgewood Vista in Mandan and jumped right in with a full and active lifestyle and quickly became close friends with residents and staff members, who were taken in by her friendliness and positivity. She greatly enjoyed her new social life and fully immersed herself in the great variety of games, activities, and excursions on hand. Several of the residents also profited greatly from Gay's nursing advice and encouragement as she would assist and encourage them in navigating their health issues. Gay is survived by her husband of 42 years, Al Kline, Mandan; her son Justin (Brenda) Honrath, Mandan; stepsons Erik Kline, Augusta, KS; Victor Kline (Kathleen), Killeen TX; Albert Kline III (Jill), Lincoln, ND; Kristopher Kline (Sarah), Lincoln, ND; sisters, Sherry (Darell) Herman, Beulah; Gwyn Herman (Laverne Johnson), Bismarck; brother, Tim (Anne) Herman, Bismarck; seven grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; and brother, Todd Herman.