Kathern Margaretta Lingenfelter died Thursday at 82 years of age in Pasadena, Calif., where she lived with her husband, Galen. Kathern, daughter of Elma Grace Brumbaugh and George W. Rogers, was born in Alum Bank, near Pleasantville. She was the fourth of five children and is survived by her brother, Ellis Rogers of Sun City Center, Fla. Her father, George W. Rogers, was an elder in the Church of the Brethren and founding pastor of Leamersville Brethren Church in 1936. Her mother, Elma, was a graduate of Juniata College and a schoolteacher in East Freedom.
Kathern married Galen M. Lingenfelter Sept. 28, 1940, in Leamersville Brethren Church. She is survived by her husband, Galen; four children: Sherwood Lingenfelter, Paul Lingenfelter, Charlene Alexander and Glenna Barr; 11 grandchildren: Jennifer and Joel Lingenfelter, Carl and Daniel Lingenfelter, Benjamin, Joseph, Jeffrey and Timothy Alexander and Ryan, Heather and Michelle Barr; great-grandchildren include: Grace and Jacob Lingenfelter, Knox and Drew Lingenfelter and Lily Alexander. In addition, she welcomed adopted grandchildren: Kathy, T.J., Heather and Richard Alexander and Sylvia Mongon Flake; and adopted great-grandchildren: Krissty and Korri Alexander, Samantha,
Nicholas and Alexander Alquijay and Samuel, Emily and Mary Flake. Kathern was a gifted piano player, learning to play at about 7 years of age. Her first hymn was "Wonderful Words of Life." She could play more than 200 hymns from memory, many of them up to two weeks before her death. Kathern served in ministry with her pastor husband as pianist and organist in Brethren churches in Buena Vista, Va., Elyria, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Ind.Kathern also was an exceptional seamstress, a skill that included eupholstering chairs and couches. She blessed her children with her musical and her sewing and decorating talents. She also had a high value for education, encouraging her sons to earn Ph.D. degrees and her daughters to complete their college education. Although she did not complete high school as a youth, she continued her education all through her life,and ultimately earned her associate (1987) and bachelor's degrees (1989) from Indiana University. Kathern's greatest gift to her children was teaching them how to work and to be responsible for their livelihood. She had learned as a child how to live in the most difficult circumstances,experiencing the loss of their new farmhouse and the farm in the Depression. She carried those lessons with her and throughout her life made her family and home beautiful with her exceptional gifted hands. While they often lived with little, they never lived in want. Kathern always made sure they had plenty of food, and that they were dressed well.Several songs were precious to her in the last year of her life. She often played "My Jesus I Love Thee" on the organ in her home and called it her theme song. She learned the chorus, "Gentle Shepherd" during that last year and often asked Sherwood to sing it while she played. A lifelong favorite was "Ivory Palaces," which she remembered as a duet sung by her mother and father. She played and Sherwood sang "Rock of Ages" because that was Galen's favorite. As she reached the close of her life, she played the piano for anyone who would listen in Regency Park. They called her the "piano lady." As she felt her life coming to a close, "Face to Face" became her daily theme song, and she played "When they Ring Those Golden Bells" with great intensity and beauty. Many of the patients would come to the piano and watch her hands, beautiful hands, with long fingers, streaming across the keys, bring to life the music that lived in her beautiful mind. Kathern died of complications because of aging in Regency Park — El Molino in Pasadena. She is indeed "Face to Face" and living and breathing new music that she could only dream of in this life. Her family rejoices that she is with her Lord Jesus Christ, whom she loved and worshipped all through her teen and adult life. Funeral services were held at Grace Brethren Church in South Pasadena, Calif., Aug. 11, 2007, and local services will be held at 2 p.m. Aug. 26, 2007, at Grace Brethren Church in Leamersville, by Pastor Mark Lingenfelter. Kathern will be buried next to her parents in the Brumbaugh Cemetery at Fredericksburg. Local arrangements are by Todd T. Thompson Funeral Home Inc., Roaring Spring.