Brookings County, South Dakota Obituary and Death Notice Collection
GenealogyBuff.com - Brookings County, South Dakota Obituary Collection - 53
Posted By: GenealogyBuff.com Date: Wednesday, 19 June 2024, at 9:54 p.m.
Garland E. Mengenhauser, Sr.
April 19, 1939 – Oct. 1, 2014
Madison - Garland E. Mengenhauser, Sr., 75, died Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014, at Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota.
Funeral services were held Saturday at Skroch Funeral Chapel in Flandreau.
Garland was born to Edward and Florence (Schroeder) Mengenhauser on April 19, 1939 in Mitchell.
The family moved to rural Moody County where he received his education at Bell School and graduated from Egan High School in 1957. Garland entered the U.S. Navy in November of 1957. He married Ester Brazil at Manila, Philippines, in 1959. Garland saw action at Tonkin Bay and in other areas related to the Vietnam War. Upon his retirement from the Navy on Feb. 15, 1978, he was employed as an electrician at U.S. Steel, Pittsburg, Calif. They moved to Madison in 1989, where he worked at Gehl’s and Wenks Produce. Ester died Jan. 24, 1995. Garland married Elena Tadeo on March 31, 1997, in Pampanga, Philippines.
Garland is survived by his wife, Elena, Madison; six children, Alan (Sherry) Mengenhauser of Antioch, Calif., Garland Jr. (Mary) Mengenhauser of Brentwood, Calif., Daniell (Timmy) Capulong of Madison, Janice (Krishna) Gone of Columbus, Neb., Bernadette (Nick) Jorgensen of Watertown and Michael (Josephine) Capulong of Watertown; 12 grandchildren; his mother, Florence of Flandreau; two brothers, Richard (Becky) of Flandreau, Roger (Glenda) Boerne of Texas; two sisters Jean (Jerry) Berger of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Jayne (Kim) Verhey of Madison. He was preceded in death by his first wife Ester and his father.
Ronald Wayne Gustafson
Feb. 14, 1938 – Oct. 4, 2014
Madison - Ronald Wayne Gustafson, 76, of Madison died suddenly Saturday, Oct. 4, 2014, helping on the farm.
A celebration of Ron's life is Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. at the Johnson-Henry Funeral Home in Arlington followed by a family memorial service where Ron's life will be celebrated by his brother Raymond. Burial is in the Spring Lake Covent Cemetery in rural Oldham.
Ron was the older of two sons born to Chester and Martha (Sandberg) Gustafson on Feb, 14, 1938. Ron was a life long farmer and all-around handyman. He enjoyed four wheeling in and around Madison and trail riding in Wisconsin. Summertime meant you could find him riding motorcycle and spending time with his loved ones.
Ron is survived by the mother of his children, Donna Gustafson and his daughters, Brenda Peterson and Lisa Mullaney; a brother, Raymond (Connie) Gustafson; seven grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren and a number of close friends.
Ron was preceded in death his son Todd.
Howard A. Ruotsalainen
Dec 08, 1923 - Apr 28, 2009
Howard Alfred Ruotsalainen, son of William and Emma (Kinnunen) Ruotsalainen, was born December 8, 1923, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up and received his education at Lake Norden, graduating from Lake Norden High School. Howard entered the U.S. Army and served overseas during World War II and was involved in the Battle Of The Bulge and the Normandy Invasion. After the war he entered the U.S. Air Force and served for 25 years including a tour in Viet Nam. He was united in marriage to Marjorie A. Goldberg on December 19, 1956, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Howard retired from the Air Force on June 1, 1971, and they lived in California for a short time before moving to Castle Rock, Washington. Marjorie died in November of 2006 and Howard returned to Lake Norden in February of 2007. He died on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at Lake Norden at the age of 85 years, 4 months and 20 days.
He enjoyed golfing, fishing and hunting.
Grateful for having shared his life are his brother Roger Ruotsalainen and his wife Marilyn of Cumming, GA; a sister-in-law, Barbara Ruotsalainen of Lake Norden; and several nieces and nephews.
Howard was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, two brothers, Robert and Clifford and one sister Olga.
No funeral services will be held and burial will be in Black Hills National Cemetery at a later date.
Ruth Larson
Feb. 12, 1926 – Oct. 24, 2014
Flandreau - Eugenia Ruth Larson, 88, died Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, at Manning Regional Healthcare Center in Manning, Iowa.
Funeral services are at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Flandreau. Burial is in Clare Lutheran Cemetery. Visitation is 5 – 7 p.m. Wednesday at Skroch Funeral Chapel in Flandreau.
Ruth, daughter of Opal G. and Ollie R. (Lackey) Cypert, was born Feb. 12, 1926, in Lockney, Texas. She was the second youngest of seven children. She grew up on a farm near Cedar Hill, Texas, and as a child helped pick cotton on the family farm.
She attended Cedar Hill Grade School and Floydada High School. She left high school to go to work in Amarillo, Texas. She completed the Western Union Telegraphy course and worked there awhile and also worked at the Panhandle Laundry.
While in Amarillo, she enjoyed attending dances where she met her future husband, Laurel Larson, who was stationed at the Amarillo Air Base. On Aug. 4, 1945, they were married in Amarillo. The day after the wedding they left on a train trip to South Dakota to visit his family. After a brief return to Texas and after Laurel’s honorable discharge from the Army in October 1945, they moved to South Dakota and in the spring of 1946 moved to a farm southwest of Egan and started farming.
They lived on two different farms southwest of Egan until 1968 when they purchased a farm 11 miles south of Brookings. Ruth attended the Church of Christ in Cedar Hill as a child.
The Cypert children would often be called upon to sing in church. On April 24, 1953, she was baptized at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church and on May 10, 1953, was confirmed into the Lutheran faith and became a member of Clare Lutheran Church. Her daughters remember attending confirmation classes and were there when she was baptized. Ruth was a farm wife typical of that time raising chickens and growing a big garden to can food for the family. She sold eggs every week for spending money.
Ruth loved the piano and although she never took lessons, she could play many songs from ear. Her family remembers her good cooking.
She became a Norwegian cook making lefse for her family. She lived on the farm south of Brookings with her husband for 40 years. In 2009, a year after Laurel’s death, she built a duplex on Spafford Square in Flandreau where she lived until May 2012 when due to declining health she moved to Reed House Assisted Living in Denison, Iowa, to be near Donna. In November 2013 as her health further declined she became a resident of the Manning Plaza in Manning, Iowa, where Donna lives.
Ruth is survived by her twin daughters, Donna (Floyd) Forman of Manning, Iowa, Dianne (Roger) Headrick of Eden Prairie, Minn.; four grandsons; six great-grandchildren; a sister, Edith Gugenheim of Wichita, Kan., and one sister-in-law, Ruth Larson of Egan.
She was preceded in death by her husband; an infant daughter at birth; two sisters, Ruby Higginbotham and Zola Cypert and three brothers, Albert Cypert, James Cypert, and Warren Cypert.
Helen Ann Peterson
Sept. 17, 1931 – Oct. 25, 2014
Helen Ann Peterson, 83, of Volga, died Saturday, October 25, 2014, at the Brookings hospital surrounded by her family. Funeral services are at 2 p.m. Wednesday at First Lutheran Church in Volga. Burial is in Bethany Cemetery at Astoria. Visitation is Tuesday from 4:30 -7 p.m. at Eidsness Funeral Chapel in Volga.
Helen Ann (Ruttum) Peterson was born on Sept. 17, 1931, to Anton J. and Tilla (Olufson) Ruttum in Hendricks, Minn. She was baptized at First Lutheran Church in Hendricks and confirmed at Bethany Lutheran Church in Astoria. Helen graduated valedictorian from Astoria High School in 1949, and Cum Laude in mathematics from Augustana in 1953.
She was a teacher in Colton and Brandt through 1954 and substitute taught in Volga for many years. On June 28, 1953, Helen married Donald A. Peterson at the Astoria Bethel Lutheran Church. Her greatest joy was raising her four sons and daughter. Don died April 2, 2013.
Helen was a very involved member of First Lutheran Church in Volga, teaching Sunday School, holding many offices in WELCA, belonging to circle, church choir, quilting and giving of her time and talents for many other events. She belonged to Extension Club and the Rural Letter Carriers Auxiliary.
Helen was known for her lefse and donut making and enjoyed baking with her grandchildren. Her family always looked forward to gathering for her holiday meals. Helen also enjoyed knitting special items for her family and church, gardening, camping and spending many winters with Don in Apache Junction, Ariz. Helen loved attending her children’s and grandchildren’s musical and sporting events.
Survivors include her five children: David (Evelyn) Peterson of Redding, Calif., Lonnie (Joan) Peterson of Sioux Falls, Kent (Carol) Peterson of Tea, Brian (Glenda) Peterson of Imperial, Mo., and Janet (Derek) Peterson of Volga; nine grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; four step-great-grandchildren; sister-in-law, Helen Koval of Seattle; five nephews, three nieces and numerous other relatives.
Helen was preceded in death by her husband; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Lowell and Mary Peterson; and her parents-in-law.
Florence - Kimberly Rae "Kim" (Jeremy) DeVille, 41, Florence, died from injuries received in a pick-up rollover north of Bryant, Sunday afternoon, Nov. 20, 2016. She was the daughter of Phyllis (Bickett) Gustafson of rural Bryant and the late Alan Gustafson.
Visitation will be held on Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at Bryant and will continue one hour preceding services on Friday.
Funeral services will be held on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016 at 11 a.m. in the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at Bryant with The Rev. Mindy Ehrke officiating. Casketbearers will be Jeremy and Trent DeVille, Robert and Jared Runge, and Don and Dan Bickett. Burial will follow in the Garfield Lutheran Cemetery east of Bryant.
Kimberly Rae Gustafson was born on Dec. 14, 1974. She grew to adulthood in the Willow Lake/Bryant area, attending grade school in Willow Lake and then the family moved near Bryant where she went to grade school in Lake Norden. The Jr. High School was located in Bryant, so that is where she attended school until High School at Hamlin, graduating in 1993. While in high school she participated in volleyball, band and choir, and was a wrestling cheerleader. Kim then went to Kilian Community College in Sioux Falls while working various jobs in the area until her graduation.
She married Adam Schoels and, to this union, thre children were born, Casey, and twins, Trey and Tristen. They later divorced. Kim lived in Volga/Brookings area while working for area business’s including Larson Manufacturing and Norgaard-Syverson Insurance. Later she moved to Watertown working for First Premier Bankcard, Angus Palm Industries and currently at Prairie Lakes Hospital as a purchasing agent. While in Watertown she met and later married Jeremy DeVille on 8/9/10, a date she picked so he wouldn’t forget the date! In her free moments she liked doing crafts, enjoyed being outdoors, watching butterflies, camping and fishing. Second to none though was time spent with family. It was very important to her following the kids and others friends’ kids in their activities. She was a member of New Helgen Lutheran Church at Florence. As a child she was baptized and confirmed in the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church at Bryant.
Preceding her in death was her father, Alan Gustafson, and the maternal and paternal grandparents.
Grateful for having shared in her life, his her husband Jeremy, children, Casey, Trey and Tristen Schoels all of Florence, her mother, Phyllis Gustafson of Bryant, siblings, Tom (Mandy) Carnahan of Isanti, Minn., and Crystal (Robert) Runge of Brookings. She also leaves aunts, uncles and several cousins.
Funeral arrangements are with the Furness Funeral Home at Clark.
Donald Gene Mennis
March 21, 1939 – Nov. 24, 2016
Donald Gene Mennis, 77, of Brookings, died Thursday, Nov. 24, 2016, at the Brookings hospital.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church in Brookings. Visitation is from 1 p.m. until time of service at the church.
Donald was born March 21, 1939, in Toronto, the son of Irvine and Gladys (Glider) Mennis. Don received his education in district No. 60, Violet Mound and graduated from the Astoria High School. He continued his education for one year at St. Olaf College at Northfield, Minn. Don married Joan Luze on Nov. 29, 1950, in Brookings. He was employed for Montgomery Ward in Minneapolis for a short time before moving back to Brookings.
He then owned and operated Champion Auto Store for many years. Joan died on Sept. 8, 1989, in Brookings. Don married Betty Ruth DeJong on Sept. 29, 1990. He later was employed at SDSU as a maintenance mechanic at the physical plant until his retirement in March of 2003. In Don’s and Betty’s 26 years of marriage he always enjoyed traveling to the Black Hills for hunting and vacations. The highlight of his life was traveling each year to Gull Lake in Minnesota for their family reunion.
Don was a member of First United Methodist Church. He loved to hunt, fish, play cards with friends and neighbors, woodworking, and later in his life embroidery.
Don is survived by his wife, Betty Ruth Mennis of Brookings; his children, Steven (Nancy) Mennis of Brookings, Kevin (Renee) Mennis of Omaha, Jeffery Mennis of Brookings, Nadine (Rusty) Edwards of Savana, Ill., Douglas (Jeannine) DeJong of Panama City, Fla., Darren (Wendy) DeJong of Brookings; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; a brother Dr. William (Helen) Mennis of Staples, Minn..; a sister-in-law, Judy Mennis of Texas; many nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
He was preceded in death by his first wife Joan, and a brother Mark.
Eidsness Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Jule A. Anderson
June 8, 1933 – Nov. 14, 2016
Flandreau - Jule A. Anderson, 83, of Flandreau, died Monday, Nov. 14, 2016, at the Avera Flandreau Hospital.
Funeral services are at 2 p.m. Friday at the Flandreau United Methodist Church. Burial is in Union Cemetery. Visitation is 5 – 7 p.m. Thursday at Skroch Funeral Chapel in Flandreau, with a 7 p.m. prayer service.
Jule was born June 8, 1933, at Wahoo, Neb., to Elmer and Allie (Robinson) Anderson. He received his education in Malmo and Wahoo, Neb. Jule worked as a projectionist at the theater in Wahoo and in construction building houses.
He then married Doloris Strigow and he worked for the City of San Diego.
Jule married Leanna Walcow on Jan. 11, 1975, in San Diego. He retired in 1977 and they moved to Bradshaw, Neb., for 10 years and in 1987 to Wahoo, Neb., where he continued to work as a long haul truck driver until 2006.
They moved to Flandreau on July 11, 2012. Jule was a member of Flandreau United Methodist Church and the American Legion. He enjoyed woodworking and his dog, Susie.
Jule is survived by his wife Leanna of Flandreau; two daughters, Katherine (Dick) Elder, Inverness, Fla.; Susan K. Vitik of La Mesa, Calif.; two stepsons, John (Sharon) Duncan, Flandreau; David (Yolanda) Duncan, Ramona, Calif.; three grandsons; three step-grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; six step-great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jack (Betty) Anderson of Branson, Mo. And Curtis (Michel) Anderson of San Diego; sister, Sharon (Toby Bode) McCabe of Fremont, Neb.; and brother-in-law Earl Foster of York, Neb.
Jule was preceded in death by his sister Joan, and half-brother Lewis Grant.
Memorials may be made to Flandreau United Methodist Church, Alzheimer’s Association or the American Cancer Society.
