Obituary - Kimberly Amelia (Byrne) Hartmann

February 12, 2020, Kimberly Amelia (Byrne) Hartmann, 35, a registered nurse from Mineral Point, earned her angel wings and was welcomed home into the arms of angels.

She has been set free and her spirit will live on.

Kimberly was born July 31, 1984, in Shelby to proud parents, Nona Marie Johannsen and father, William Harold Byrne. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she was raised by her mother. She had many experiences at a young age and learned early on that it isn't what you have in life, it's who you have beside you that matters the most. She lived that motto throughout her entire life.

Growing up, she attended school in Whitlash and Sunburst and then obtained her nursing degree from Montana State University-Northern. Nursing was her passion and she knew from a young age that was her calling. She worked all areas of hospitals for a few years before becoming unable to work due to illness. At that point she turned to patient advocacy to carry on her work. Earning numerous accolades through advocacy organizations kept her going. She was named one of the Top 100 Rare Disease Social Media Influencers Internationally for 2019 and won a national Advocacy Award through Dysautonomia Support Network in Washington, D.C., in 2019.

Insistent on sharing her experience and wanting to improve the health care landscape, Kimberly started a blog under her penname, AutonomicRN. Her blog, "A Dummies Guide to Learning To Live As A Patient Instead of a Nurse," caught the attention of thousands of people as well as impacting many lives. AutonomicRN will live on for eternity.

In 2006, she married her college sweetheart and the love of her life, Dan and the two of them shared the best years that anybody could imagine. Always laughing and finding the positive in situations, he kept her going and made her keep smiling even when it seemed impossible. They had two beagles, Chloe and Lexi, to keep them occupied at home.  Kimberly and Dan were members of the St. Patrick's St. Isadore's Catholic Church in Hollandale.

Kimberly is survived by her husband, Dan of Mineral Point, WI; half-sister Christine Deschamps of Orange Park, FL; father, William Byrne of Cut Bank; aunts and uncles, Cleve (Jonette) Johannsen of Sunburst, Barbara Johannsen of Monrovia, CA, Robert (Annette) Byrne of Meridian, ID, Charles (Barbara) Byrne of Great Falls, Shawn (Jodi) Byrne of Billings; her in-laws, John (Jane) Hartmann of Minneiska, MN, sister-in-law Heidi Hartmann of Minneiska, MN, along with numerous cousins. She also is survived by all her amazing friends.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Nona Marie Johannsen Byrne; her grandparents, Russell and Rita Johannsen and William and Olive Byrne, along with numerous great-aunts and uncles.

Funeral mass will be Saturday, February 22, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. Burial to follow in Sunburst Cemetery.

A special thank you to Dr. Gordon Grieshaber for his unwavering care and compassion and to the nurses at Upland Hills Health in Dodgeville, WI. Everyone had been on the journey with us and was part of our family.

Donations are suggested to the Hartmann family to help with funeral expenses and medical bills. Donations are also suggested to the Medical/Surgical and ER Nurses at Upland Hills Health.

Condolences can be made to Kimberly's memorial page at http://www.asperfh.com .