Brookings County, South Dakota Obituary and Death Notice Collection
GenealogyBuff.com - Brookings County, South Dakota Obituary Collection - 51
Posted By: GenealogyBuff.com Date: Wednesday, 19 June 2024, at 9:28 p.m.
Lloyd Beckman
Dec. 2, 1926 – Sept. 24, 2014
Lloyd M. Beckman, 87, of Brookings, died Sept. 24, 2014, at The Neighborhoods of Brookview in Brookings. Funeral services are at 3 p.m. Sunday at Peace Lutheran Church in Brookings. Visitation is from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday at Peace Lutheran Church in Brookings. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Peace Lutheran Church for their stained glass windows. Rude’s Funeral Home is assisting the family with funeral arrangements.
Lloyd M. Beckman was born on Dec. 2, 1926, in Glenham, the son of Eugene and Dorothy (Schlomer) Beckman.
Lloyd attended Bethany High School in Mankato, Minn., and graduated in 1944. He continued his education at SDSU and graduated in 1949 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.
He married Louise Goehle on Oct. 9, 1949, in Luverne, Minn.
In 1949, he entered into a partnership with his father who owned Beckman Implement in Brookings. Lloyd retired from Beckman Implement in 1992.
He was a member of Peace Lutheran Church. Lloyd was very active in the community and state and served on the District Conservation Board, the State Association of Conservation, the State Conservation Commission. Lloyd was Tree Farmer of the Year in 1985. Lloyd was a member of the Board of Directors of the South Dakota District of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. He also served as the first president of the South Dakota Lutherans for Life. He enjoyed woodworking and especially spending time with family and friends.
Lloyd is survived by his wife, Louise of Brookings; a son, Kenneth (Linda) Beckman of Alexandria, Va.; two daughters, Helen (Glenn) Fiechtner of Sioux Falls and Joyce (Mike) Lukens of Evansville, Ind.; four grandchildren; one great-grandchild; two sisters, Lucille (Lowell) Niklason of Ogden, Utah, Joan Beckman of Mesa, Ariz., and one brother, Eugene (Mary Alice) Beckman of Moline, Ill.
Danny Thomas
Feb. 11, 1952 – Oct. 13, 2014
Yuma, Ariz. - Danny Ellis Thomas, 62, died Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, at his home in Yuma, Ariz.
Funeral services were held Saturday, Oct. 25, at Skroch Funeral Chapel in Flandreau.
He was born in Flandreau on Feb. 11, 1952, to L. Ellis and LaVonne (Agnitsch) Thomas. Danny grew up and graduated from Flandreau High School in 1970. Danny attended South Dakota State University in Brookings. Danny’s first love in life was music and he played several musical instruments.
In his later high school years, Danny and his friends/classmates created a band called The Thirteenth Hour. He also played with the local popular bands Nickel Bag of Soul (inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013), The Rising Sons, and Priceless (to be inducted into the South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015).
Danny was a member of the Flandreau Alumni Band and the Flandreau City Band along with his father, siblings and children.
After leaving SDSU, Danny met Penny Cross, his first wife, while touring as a musician in Canada, and they were married in Sioux Falls in 1977.
Danny and Penny returned to Flandreau, where they owned Danny’s Lounge from 1975-1997.
In 1997, Danny and his family journeyed west to Hill City in the Black Hills where they owned Thomas Bookkeeping and Whispering Pines Shelties. Danny and his family returned to eastern South Dakota in 2007. The family was greatly saddened as Penny passed away in 2009.
Danny found great happiness again marrying Cathe (Bauske) Walker in 2012.
Danny and Cathe took up residence in sunny Yuma, Arizona. He enjoyed gardening, playing music, golfing, spending time with friends and family and cherished his four beautiful grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife, Cathe; son, Danny Lincoln, of Brookings; daughter, Abby of Swan, Iowa; son, Billy (Sheena); daughter, Kristy (Joey) Peterson; four grandchildren; daughter, Karly, special friend Isaac, of Brookings; mother, LaVonne Thomas of Flandreau; sister, Linda (Bob) Harris of Alta, Iowa; sister, Pam (Doug) Shipe of Lenexa Kan.; brother, Kerry(Laurie) of Flandreau; brother, Tom (Marion) of Wakefield, R.I.; step-daughter, Crystal (Doug) Ninas of Gillette, Wyo.; step-son Eric Walker of Yuma, Ariz.; four step-grandchildren; numerous extended family members and a host of friends.
He was preceded in death by Penny, his first wife of 32 years; his father Lincoln Ellis Thomas; and grandparents.
Frances Jo ‘Fran’ Patt
July 19, 1925 – Oct. 28, 2014
Lilydale, Minn. - Frances Jo "Fran" (Swinney) Patt, 89, of Lilydale Senior Living, formerly Brookings, devoted wife, mother, grandmother, died Tuesday Oct. 28, 2014, at Carondelet Village in St. Paul surrounded by her family.
Funeral services were at 11 a.m. today at the Carondelet Village Chapel, 525 S. Fairview Ave. in St. Paul, Minn. 55105. Private interment of ashes at Resurrection Cemetery is in St. Paul, Minn., at a later date.
Fran was born July 19, 1925, and raised in Benton, IL, by her parents, Oscar Thomas Swinney and Perna Joplin Swinney.
Fran graduated from the Barnes School of Nursing in St. Louis, and married Walter Henry Patt, MD, in 1946.
Fran and Walt lived in Brookings for 34 years. Dr. Walter Patt, her husband, was a well-known pediatric physician for many years here.
They would retire to Bella Vista, Ark., in 1984. Fran and Walt were active members of the Bella Vista Village, with golf, and memberships on several community boards of directors.
Fran was preceded in death by an infant sister Jane Elizabeth Swinney, and brother Dr. William Joplin Swinney.
Dr. Walter Patt, her husband of 59 years died in 2006.
Fran is survived by her daughter Suzanne Patt (Michael) Cullen of Sanibel, Fla., and her son William Henry (Kristin) Patt of St. Paul, and seven grandchildren and three great-grandsons.
The family requests memorials to PEO STAR Scholarship Fund c/o PEO International, 3700 Grand Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50312.
Services are entrusted to the O’Connell Family Funeral Home of Hudson, WI, (715) 386-3725.
Rosie Brower
Apr 13, 1918 - Jan 20, 2009
Rosie A. (Perkins) Brower, daughter of Carl and Anna (Ashland) Perkins, was born April 13, 1918, at Oldham, South Dakota.
She began school near Vienna, South Dakota and they moved to Oldham when she was a young girl.
After her mother’s death, when she was 13 years old, she and her father returned to Vienna.
She worked with her father on the farm and after leaving home she worked for friends, taking care of children and housecleaning.
She was employed at the nursing home in Dempster and later at the nursing home in Estelline.
Rose was united in marriage to John Brower on July 19, 1950, in Bruce, South Dakota and they lived in Dempster, Toronto and Estelline.
After John’s death on July 19, 1978, she continued to work at the nursing home and also worked at a local café. She entered the Estelline Nursing and Care Center on November 20, 2001, and died there on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the age of 90 years, 9 months and 7 days.
She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church and enjoyed search-a-word puzzles, embroidery, reading, gardening, cooking and baking.
Rosie is survived by her friends at the Estelline Nursing and Care Center, the Estelline Community and Trinity Lutheran Church.
Funeral Service: 2:00 P.M., Friday, January 23, 2009 Trinity Lutheran Church, Estelline, South Dakota, Rev. Ann E.S. Webb, Officiating
Interment: Hillcrest Cemetery, Estelline, South Dakota
Valdo John Davis
April 28, 1922 – Oct. 13, 2014
Estelline - Valdo John Davis, 92, died Monday, Oct. 13, 2014, at the Brookings hospital.
Funeral services are at 2 p.m. Friday at the United Church of Christ in Estelline. Visitation is from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Geise Funeral Home in Estelline.
Valdo John Davis was born April 28, 1922 at Estelline to Arthur V. and Mary Ann (Linneman) Davis. He grew up near Estelline with his two sisters, Alta and Janice, and graduated from Estelline High School in 1941. He farmed near Estelline and raised registered Hereford cattle.
On Aug. 28, 1954, he married Joyce Nerland.
Valdo took farming seriously, but he did not pass up a chance to go fishing or hunting. The Twins and the Vikings were other favorite past times. He enjoyed visiting with his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In turn, they enjoyed his story-telling and humor.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joyce; their children, Arlene (John Peterson) of Chapel Hill, N.C., Patricia (Tim Tesch) of Watertown, Steven and James Davis of Estelline and Robert Davis (Althea) of Brookings; six grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; one sister, Alta Ferren of Frederick, Md., and a host of other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his sister, Janice and granddaughter, Jennifer.
Oceanside, Calif. - Marie Laretta Filholm, 85, died Sept. 8, 2014.
Masses of celebration of life have been or will be read for Retta in Brookings, Timber Lake and Spearfish in South Dakota; Redding, San Francisco and Oceanside, Calif. Wisconsin and Washington, D.C.
She was born Oct. 17, 1928, in White.
Retta was a teacher, a child counselor and a passionate published poet. Retta borrowed a mantra she loved to share widely: "A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in or the car I drove, but the world may be different because I was important in the life of a child."
She left Brookings High School following her sophomore year to work at Nick’s Hamburger joint and to marry Arthur Lee Quinn Sr.
Retta finished her junior and senior years of high school (in one school year) attending Timber Lake High School, graduating in May of 1956. She earned her teaching certificate from Presentation College in 1961. She and Art attended South Dakota State University many summers when their teaching careers ended.
In 1972, she earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Black Hills State College and her master’s degree in 1974.
She began her first teaching journey in a two-classroom school in Glencross with Art in 1961. She taught grades 1-4 and Art taught grades 5-8.
She would later teach in South Dakota schools in Timber Lake and as elementary principal in Red Scaffold. She was also a counselor for the Northern Cheyenne Schools in Busby, Mont.
In 1981, Retta’s love of Native peoples took her to the northwest Arctic school of Alaska.
She lived above the Arctic Circle until 1989, teaching, counseling and creating curriculum in the Inuit schools of Kotzebue, Shungnak, Ambler and Kivalina.
It was in the Arctic that Laretta met her loving friend and devoted surviving life partner of 27 years, Louis Grzadzieleski. Summers afforded them the opportunity to travel to the States and Mexico. In 1989, they moved to their final home together in Oceanside, Calf.
The couple briefly left Oceanside for two years, moving to South Dakota, where she was a school counselor for schools of He Dog and Spring Creek.
Loretta donated her body to the University of California San Diego body donor program.
She is survived by a son, Robert Quinn; brothers Doug Filholm of Brookings and Dave Filholm of Huron, nieces, nephews and in-laws.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Art and her son Arthur Lee Quinn Jr.; sisters Genevieve Holm and Geraldine Jensen and a brother, James Filholm.
Gregory Jay Shelden
March 27, 1950 – Sept. 25, 2014
Mesa, Ariz. - Gregory Jay Shelden, 64, died Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, after his courageous six-year battle with cancer.
A celebration for Greg’s life will be announced at a later date.
Gregory Jay Shelden was born March 27, 1950, in California. He was raised in South Dakota and was a long-time resident of Mesa, Ariz. Greg was a wonderful brother, dad, grandpa, soul mate, nephew and everyone’s best friend. His countless friends were his greatest joy. He truly felt he was the luckiest guy in the world. His kindness, generosity, quick wit and unwavering loyalty were beyond compare.
Among his many talents and accomplishments as an artist and entrepreneur, Greg was best known as an extraordinary musician and performer. A two time inductee in to the South Dakota Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Cavaliers and The Ride.
He is survived by his daughters, Margaret Revette, Jennifer Yeatropoulos and Heather Davis; two granddaughters; sister, Peggy Feller; bother-in-law. Bob Feller; three nephews; a niece and special friend Flo Massaro-McCoy.
Greg was preceded in death by his beloved Diane Davis, mother and father Don and Muriel Shelden.
In lieu of flowers, a donation offered to the American Cancer Society or a charity close to your heart is greatly appreciated.
Helen M. Johnson
Dec 26, 1917 - Jan 16, 2009
Helen M. Johnson, age 91, formerly of DeSmet, South Dakota, died Friday, January 16, 2009, at the Estelline Nursing and Care Center. She was born on December 26, 1917, in Lincoln County, Wisconsin, the daughter of Raymond and Hilda (Martinson) Thomas.
In May of 1936, she moved with her family to South Dakota where she met and married Vernon R. Johnson in 1940.
They moved to DeSmet in 1949. Helen remained in their home after Vernon’s death in 1985 until her health required her to move to the nursing home in June of 2002.
She worked for the Farmer’s Mutual Insurance Company of South Dakota for 30 years until her retirement in 1982. She and Vern loved following the DeSmet High School basketball team long after their daughters graduated and were gone. They enjoyed golfing and having coffee with friends. After Vern’s death Helen continued her active life visiting children and grandchildren, cross county skiing and taking special vacations with her granddaughter, Darla Biever. She was a faithful member of the DeSmet United Methodist Church, holding many positions of responsibility throughout the years. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren were the pride and joy of her life.
Grateful for having shared her life are two daughters, Verna Biever and her husband Dr. Duane of Castlewood, SD, Dr. Pat Cole of Ellensburg, WA; four grandchildren, Darla Biever of Yakima, WA, Wendi Wokow and her husband Devon of DeSmet, Doug and his wife Christine of Seattle, WA, Joe and his wife Christy of Mineral Point, WI; four great-grandchildren, Lexi, Kyla, Kali and Libby Wolkow of DeSmet; two sisters, Irene Liederbach of Bella Vista, AR, Shirley Brown of Volga, SD; three sisters-in-law, Shirley Anderson of Sioux Falls, Vera Thomas of Lake Norden, SD, Joy Thomas of Ellensburg, WA; and a host of other relatives and friends.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband Vernon; her parents; two brothers, Gene and Walt Thomas; and five brothers-in-law, Chester Anderson, Harvey Brown, Art Liederbach, Delwyn Johnson and his wife Esther and Wayne Johnson and his wife Olga.
No services are planned at this time. A Celebration of Helen’s life will be held later this year.
