Kate Ellsberg
| Kate Ellsberg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sex | F |
| Birth name | Kate O'Connor |
| Death date | 1998 |
| Spouse | Bud Ellsberg |
Kate O'Connor married Bud Ellsberg about 1964. Although she had doubts and worries, she supported Bud's decision to leave his family's grocery business and start the C&SL Railroad.
While Bud had his railroad to keep him busy, Kate worked with the Women's Club. She was a founder of the Spearfish Lake Chili Festival and arranged for her husband to serve as a judge both in 1974 and 1975. She was instrumental in coordinating the relief of refugees from the Warsaw Fire. She was described as "Kate may be a pain in the ass at times, but I can't think of anyone else in Spearfish Lake who you could dump a problem like this onto and expect it to get taken care of. She might not be able to change a light bulb for herself, but she knows everybody in town."SX3
Kate served as administrator for her friend Donna Clark and the resulting Memorial Fund.
At the time of the fire, their marriage was troubled due to lack of common interests. Bud and Kate never had children of their own, but soon after the fire, they informally adopted Kate's sister's two teenaged girls because of problems their mother was having, with the law and alcohol. Bud and Kate were still together when she passed away in 1998.
