Kathy Barsness, 64

Kathy Barsness was born January 18, 1961, in Valley City, North Dakota, and passed away in Brownsville, Texas, in the loving presence of her husband and daughter. 
Kathy attended Moorhead High School and received her Associate's Degree in business management from the Minnesota School of Business. She worked for most of her young adult life at the Tree Top restaurant as a chef. She loved cooking and would often reminisce about her time there. 
She met her husband, Kim Barsness, in 1987, and she surprised him with their first springer spaniel after he came home from a hunting trip, and this sparked a deep love for the breed.
 They moved to Hawley, Minnesota, when they found out they were pregnant with their only daughter, Natalie, and they lived there for several years while they bred springer puppies and raised pheasants.
 In 1998, they moved up to Lake of the Woods, where Kathy designed, and Kim built their dream home on the Rainy River. There, they raised their daughter and, of course, always had several very spoiled dogs. 
In 2005, they bought Border Bait. Kathy was truly in her element in that store. She loved getting to socialize with customers, which may be where the phrase “Chatty Kathy” was coined, and took so much pride in her employees. 
She is survived by her husband, Kim Barsness, daughter Natalie (Jake) Massop, and grandchildren, Olivia and Levi Massop. She was extremely close with her sister Susie as well as her aunts and her brother Rodney, and deeply cared for her nieces and nephews, who will remember her as the crazy, fun-loving aunt who showered them with love.
 She also leaves behind two springer spaniels who will keep Kim very busy. 
Kathy’s funeral will be held at Wabanica Lutheran Church at 11 a.m. on February 1st. 
In lieu of flowers, Kim and Natalie request donations to the Lake of the Woods Humane Society, where she volunteered. They also request that you honor Kathy’s memory by enjoying your life—garden, go shopping, make lobster at 2 a.m., call a friend, chat up a stranger at the gas station and leave with arms full of snacks, and spread kindness however you can.