Mass of Christian Burial for Katherine "Katie" Marie Beck was held Thursday, January 4, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. at St. James Catholic Church. Celebrant was Reverend Richard J. Reiser. Pallbearers were her cousins: Matthew Graner, Steven Graner, Matthew Willett, Jacob Willett, Ian Lettow, and Scott Wanninger. Interment was in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Omaha, Nebraska.

Katherine Marie Beck, daughter of Robert and Jennifer (Zerwas) Beck, was born on September 4, 1982, in Manning, Iowa. In 1983, her family moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where she attended St. James/Seton Elementary/Middle School and graduated from Northwest High School in 2001. In high school she was active in band and Future Business Leaders of America. She went on to attend the. University of Minnesota, graduating with a Bachelor of Individualized Studies degree in December of 2006.

Katie loved the sport of curling and competed on teams from Nebraska, Massachusetts, and Minnesota. In 2002, her team won the World Junior Curling Championship in Kelowna, British Columbia. In honor of this accomplishment, Mayor Mike Fahey declared May 20, 2002, as "Katie Beck Day" in Omaha.

In early December 2005, Katie was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. On December 7, 2006, she attended a taping of Oprah Winfrey show in Chicago and met the TV star after the show. Oprah gave Katie a very inspirational talk. After a year-long courageous battle, she returned to Omaha and entered hospice care. Katie passed away at home surrounded by family on Saturday, December 30, 2006, at the age of twenty-four.

Katie is preceded in death by her grandfathers, Harold Beck and Francis Zerwas and an uncle, Dennis Beck.

She is survived by her parents Robert and Jennifer; her sister Stephanie; her brother Brian and his wife Emily; her grandmothers, Alice Beck of Omaha, Nebraska, and Rita Zerwas of Manning, Iowa, and many relatives and friends.