Gloria Kemmet

Gloria, 88, closed her eyes for the last time on the morning of Wednesday, March 6, 2024 and when she opened them again she was looking at the face of her Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 AM, Tuesday, March 12, at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 245 Columbia Ave NE, Tappen.

Visitation will be held from 5:00-7:00 PM, Monday, March 11, at St. Johns Lutheran Church. A prayer service will begin at 7:00 PM.

Burial will be held at the Fisher Cemetery, Tappen.

Gloria Jane Kemmet, daughter of Walter and Frieda (Werre) Martin was born on July 27, 1935, nine miles south of Tappen in a stone house on the present site of the Milton Weippert farm. She spoke German with her family until she started school. She was 7 when her only sibling, Shirley, was born. They lived on various farms south of Tappen until 1945 when they moved to town and she was in the 5^th grade. Gloria was no stranger to work. At the age of 12 she began working as a housemaid for the Thorsness family. She also worked at Borth’s Store and at the Lipp Café in the old hotel for 35 cents an hour. At home, she helped milk cows and deliver milk.

She married Alton Kemmet on December 23, 1951. They moved to the former Jakob Stroh farm south of Tappen. They had electricity which was new in the area, but carried water into the house in a cream pail and didn’t get indoor plumbing until the next summer. That Fall, Alton bought their first black and white TV from Sherman Electric in Steele. Soon after that they got the telephone. Their party line number was FairFax 3336. Many a hired man made their home with the family. They had two boys: Terry, born on November 9, 1952 and Craig born on September 9, 1959.

In 1968, they sold that farm to Butch Hufnagel and built a new farmstead 1.5 miles north of Tappen. Gloria designed the layout of the house and finished all of the interior woodwork with the help of her mother. Gloria loved her home and took great care of her yard and her flowers. The family had livestock and went into irrigation. Gloria was hired as a clerk in the Dawson Post Office in 1979 and in 1983 was appointed Postmaster there. It was also during her time as Postmaster that she got her GED. She became Postmaster in Tappen in 1986 and retired from that position 2003. She was always involved in all community events and loved to work with the other members of our community to help make it grow. 

She enjoyed attending church, singing in the choir and Ladies Aid at St. John’s. On Sundays she took notes on the sermon in her notebook. She enjoyed cooking and sharing her dishes at potlucks, and other church events. She was a fixture in the kitchen. 

Gloria was a creative entrepreneur. She had a ceramic shop called The Potter’s Wheel and was an amazing self-taught painter. She held classes and spent many winter evenings creating life-like masterpieces. She also owned a beauty shop in Tappen called the Family Styling Salon which opened in 1988. 

She excelled at feeding family and friends. If you happened to be at the farm near any time to eat, you never left hungry. She could whip up a meal for one person or ten in a moment’s notice. Sunday dinners were a much loved tradition in the Kemmet family.  Feeding people was her love language. 

Gloria wrote the Tappen news for the Steele Ozone officially for 53 years. In 2018 she was recognized by the North Dakota Newspaper Association for her 50 years of service at a banquet in Bismarck. She enjoyed “calling news” every Sunday night. 

Gloria maintained the home she loved in Tappen until April of 2021 when she moved into the Golden Manor. She was loved and well cared for there. She enjoyed her meals sitting next to her Aunt Tabea, playing cards and visiting with others. Whenever we walked through the door she would say “There is someone I know”. On February 23rd, the excellent nursing staff noticed that something was amiss which led to a seven day stay at Sanford Hospital. She then spent six days at the Baptist Home in Bismarck where she began to rebuild her strength to return to the Golden Manor when the Lord called her home. Swiftly, peacefully, lovingly she moved from the embrace of her family into the arms of Jesus. 

Her family and friends were the focus of her life. It was good to have her for a mom and a grandmother.  We lacked nothing. She gave much and often. It is good to celebrate a life lived but it is missing an important part unless we can see the new life to come. The celebration did not end when she closed her eyes for the last time here, but began again when she opened them in heaven and saw the smiling face of her Lord. 

She is survived by her two sons, Terry (Geri) Kemmet and Craig (Leslie) Kemmet, both of Tappen. Grandchildren, Kimberly (Bob) Russell, and their sons, Ethan, Ellis and Owen, Aberdeen SD, Lindell (Grace) Kemmet, and their children Stephanie, Jon and Reagan, Minot, Kandace Kemmet and son, Jaxon, Bismarck, Alan (Amber) Kemmet, and sons, Seth and Jake, Mandan, Kristine (Chris) Haroldson, and their children TJ, Emma and Parker, Fargo, Mary (Nate) Doll, and their children, Dylan, Liam and Ava, Mandan, Alexander (Jessica) McHenry, and their children, Alex Jr. and Christine, Ft. Cavazos, TX, Laurel (Dre) Jefferson, and their children, Laeya, Stephon and Raelle, Maple Grove, MN, Kay (Michael) Todd, and their daughters, Ruby and Sophie, Fargo, Hudson McHenry, Glendive, MT, and Hayden McHenry and fiancé, Amanda Mittleider , Tappen. Nieces, Dawn (Berg) Thompson, Goodwin, SD, Deanna Berg and Matt Lachenmeier, Tappen and nephew, Michael Berg, Hazen, two grandnephews, Dylan and Bradyn Lachenmeier and a host of friends, relatives and neighbors far too numerous to mention. 

Gloria was preceded in death by her husband, Alton Kemmet in January of 2019; her parents, Walter and Frieda (Werre) Martin; parents-in-law, Jacob and Mary (Stroh) Kemmet; her sister, Shirley and brother-in-law, Dale Berg. 

For all those living that are buried with Christ by his death, it is never good-bye but “see you later” as we all look forward to that day. What we lose here is temporary but what we gain is eternal. Thanks be to God for all his blessings, even the death of his saints.

In keeping with Gloria’s wishes, we invite all friends who come to honor her on this last occasion in her life, to please come hungry.