Connie Kay Behrendt 1955-2012

BEHRENDT DEWALD

Posted By: Connie Swearingen-Volunteer (email)
Date: 5/27/2012 at 18:26:51

Sioux City Journal
January 22, 2012

SIOUX CITY -- Connie Kay Behrendt, 56, of Sioux City passed away Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, at her home, after a courageous battle with cancer that began in early 2009.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. She will be laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery. There will be a wake service held at 7 p.m. today at Larkin Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home, on Outer Drive North.

Connie was born on April 12, 1955, in Minneapolis, Minn., to Warren and Irma DeWald. She graduated from high school in Browns Valley, Minn., and attended Western Iowa Tech in Sioux City.

She married Joseph Behrendt on Aug. 3, 1974. Together they raised three children, Jill, Craig and Brian. She worked for 22 years as a teacher's aide at Blessed Sacrament School.

Connie raised a very loving family and enjoyed countless happy family times. Faith and God were at the center of her life. Her hobbies included cross stitch, reading, cooking and baking. She was also in a book club for more than 30 years with women who grew to be like sisters to her. Connie and Joe enjoyed traveling the last 10 years of her life, which included trips to Australia, New York City, Alaska and many other places in the United States. Their favorite vacations were enjoyed on the back of their Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Connie's courageous, hard-fought battle with lung cancer took many twists and turns since 2009. Despite it all, her faith was steadfast and her attitude positive. One of her mantras was, "Onward and upward."

She is survived by her husband, Joe; her three children, Jill Barr and her husband, Tom, Craig Behrendt and Brian Behrendt; her father, Warren DeWald; brother, Gary DeWald and his wife, Beverly; and grandsons, Zander and Keegan Barr.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Irma (Henley) DeWald.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to The American Cancer Society, 2520 Pilot Knob Rd., Ste. 150, Mendota Heights, MN 55120, Attn: Shari Sharp and The Iowa Department for the Blind, 524 4th St., Des Moines, IA 50309, Attn: Tiffany Bickell.