Monthly Archives: January 2017

Dorothy Jean Wales was born in Ainsworth on July 25, 1933 to Charles and Gatha (Jackman) Berckhemer.  Dorothy had two brothers and one sister. Dorothy grew up in the Ainsworth area and attended school there. She graduated from Ainsworth High School in 1950.

Dorothy married Richard Wales at the Ainsworth Congregational Church on Jan. 7, 1951. To this union three children were born, Vicki Dee, Kimberly Lee, and Wesley Wade. They worked the farm until 1981 when they moved to Millboro, SD. Rick passed away on Oct. 11, 2000. Dorothy continued to live on the farm until her health failed and she then moved to Winner Long Term Care in the fall of 2016.
Dorothy helped on the farm when needed but she really enjoyed her garden and her flowers the most. Dorothy thought that weeding in her garden was a therapeutic thing to do. Dorothy’s mom died when she was 16 and she learned to cook from her mother-in-law. She was known for her fruit cake that would take her thirty days to make and her oatmeal raisin cookies.

Dorothy was active in several groups over the years including Job’s Daughters, Girls Scouts, and 4-H with her children. Her hands were never idle and she loved to knit and crochet. Her last knitting project was a baby blanket for her newest great granddaughter, asking her daughter Vicki to help finish. Her future dream was to make everyone a new blanket.

Bible studies and talking about her faith and its promises was very important to her.

She found great fun when someone commented on her wild nail colors , especially green. She loved the nail polishing sessions at long term care, along with bingo, enjoying every time she won a prize.

She often reminisced about her Extension club days and when she worked around the community. Dorothy loved her grandchildren and will be missed by many.

Dorothy passed away at Winner Long Term Care on Jan. 2, 2017 at the age of 83 years.

Leonard was born to Daniel Dickhaut and Rose Sayler Dickhaut at Lesterville, SD on Nov. 28, 1936. He moved to Tolstoy, SD with his family as a young boy and moved to Roscoe, SD as a young man.

Leonard was released from active duty training and returned to State control as a member of the Army Reserve to complete his remaining service obligation of 5 years and five months after his father passed away in 1961. He took over the farm and took care of his mother until her death in 1966.

He married Mona Genzlinger on June 15, 1966 at Howard, SD. They lived in Madison and Howard before moving to Winner in 1976. He was a lumber yard manager and was an interior and exterior painter in Winner.

Sandra Jean Cahoy, was born on June, 23, 1942 to Ted & Dorothy Frasch in Lynch, NE. She passed away Dec. 30th, 2016, in Norfolk, Neb, at age 74.

Sandy was a beautiful, strong, and independent woman. She attended high school in Fairfax, SD. Sandy went on to earn a business degree at Gale Institute in Minneapolis, Minn. She worked several years for the South Dakota State Highway Department. In 1962, Sandy met and married the love of her life, Don Cahoy of Bonesteel, SD. Together they had 4 children and raised them on a farm near St. Charles, SD. Sandy was a devoted Catholic and a member of Immaculate Conception Altar Society in Bonesteel and the Sacred Heart Parish in Norfolk, Neb. She was instrumental in starting the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in Norfolk and a Pro-life supporter. Don and Sandy are strong pro-life advocates and received an award for outstanding support. Sandy was an avid Green Bay Packer and Nebraska Husker fan. She loved watching sports! She also enjoyed spending time with family & friends. Sandy loved traveling the world, dancing, going to movies and doing word searches. In recent years, Sandy and Don spent their winters enjoying all of her favorite activities with their new friends that became family to them at their home in Yuma, Arizona.

Douglas R Simkins was born October 25, 1952 to Ervin “Hun” Eli Simkins and Arvis Echo Nyberg Simkins. The family lived near Mission in Doug’s early years. He was baptized in the Mission Lutheran Church.

Doug enjoyed observing and learning new things. He always loved nature and felt most at home in the country.

Doug was voted class president his junior year of high school in Witten, SD. He had hoped to graduate from Witten but the high school closed in the spring of 1969. Doug graduated from Winner High School in 1970.

His two best friends were Scott Bridgman and Duane Adel. He spent a lot of time at the home of Harold and Margaret Bridgman.

Doug attended Mitchell Vo Tech, then enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. One of his ocean deployments was Display Determination. Among others, he was on the ship U.S. Inchon. Doug was a head cook who organized many cooks under him.
When he spoke of his travels, he told of the beautiful colored water off the Island of Cyprus, and of visiting Valencia, Italy, and Barcelona, Spain.

He attained the rank of sgt. E-5. He was awarded several medals: National Defense Service Medal, two Good Conduct Medals, and Letter of Appreciation.

Doug married Cheryl Ulmer. He adopted her son Brent, and they had two more children, Barry and Billy Jo. He loved being a dad, and enjoyed taking his sons hunting. During this time, Doug built and designed his barn and built the home, all while working full time. In the mid 1980’s Doug and Cheryl divorced.

Doug was always a hard worker. He worked as a mechanic and welder on large farm equipment. Those who knew Doug well, knew how responsible, intelligent, organized and capable Doug was. He designed and built many trailers, fixed up antique tractors and was well known for his ability to fix up the old square-bale balers.

He was an avid reader, and especially enjoyed learning about the Civil War and WWII.

In 1995, Doug married Lynne Lenker Hallberg. They were married in Roger and Dawn Bridgman’s back yard in Utah. Doug chose for their special song, “Keeper of the Stars.” He believed, as the lyrics say, that it was no accident they found each other.

Doug celebrated sixteen years of sobriety on November 25, 2016.

Doug was a member of the Witten Baptist Church and was on the deacon board. The last year and a half he hardly missed a church service or Bible study. Doug was a lifetime member of the Winner American Legion.

When COPD became a part of his life, it complicated things, but Doug paced himself. Even tethered to an oxygen bottle, he resided the south side of the barn this summer and replaced the barn windows.

Doug passed away peacefully with family present on the evening of December 27, 2016 at the Avera McKennan ICU in Sioux Falls, SD.
Doug was preceded in death by his parents, grandparents, and infant brother, Alfred.

Robert (Bob) Kalenda was born in Tripp County, South Dakota, on Feb. 8, 1932, the third child of Joe Kalenda Sr. and Alice (Vrbsky) Kalenda. Bob attended the Vobr School through 8th grade and then stayed at home to help his mom and dad on the family farm.

Bob enlisted in the United States Army on April 14, 1953. He spent most of his enlisted time in Germany as a truck driver in the motor pool that rebuilt and inspected roads across the country. Bob spoke frequently about how beautiful the countryside was and talked about returning someday to visit. However, he could never talk Doris into it, as she had no desire to cross the ocean and always told him that “she hadn’t lost anything there that she wanted to go back to find!” He also told vivid stories of how he, amongst others, taught the “city” boys how to play baseball. He believed that everyone who received the chance to play any sport was “a winner” because so often people never receive the opportunity, and he often relayed that message to his grandchildren Chase and Taylor.

Bob was honorably discharged from the Armed Services on March 24, 1955 and he returned to South Dakota and the family farm.

On April 7, 1964, Bob was united in marriage to Doris Schulte. To this union two daughters were born: Kathy (Ken) Hrabanek and Lori Kalenda. Bob and Doris resided on Doris’s parents’ home place south of Colome. They farmed, milked and raised cattle, along with a hay grinding business that Bob ran with his brother Alvin. Bob continued to have cattle and was proud of his old “mortgage lifters” until the day he passed from this world.

Bob was also very proud of the 57 years he spent employed at the Winner Livestock Auction. It didn’t take much of a mention to make him smile or talk about his many memories or friends he had made over the years that he had spent “chasing those old gummers out in the sorting barn.”

In addition to his farm and his Friday WLA job, Bob also worked as a butcher and a postal clerk and spent many, many years as a bartender at the Thayer Water Legion Post in Colome. One of Bob’s favorite things to do was to put on wild game feeds for the community, as he loved to see people coming together for good food and an even better visit. The next best thing was a good game of pitch or fishing, (with Lori, Chase & Taylor) at a local stock dam or Dog Ear Lake. There was never a pitch hand he wouldn’t bid or a fish too small to keep! And if he hadn’t shared his pitch advice or fishing philosophy with those around him, he more than likely had shared his gift of song or rhyme. Bob had a niche for making up his own lyrics and/or songs, and he wouldn’t think twice about sharing his own renditions of “Pistol Packing Mama” or the “Wabash Cannonball,” and he loved teaching them to his children, grandchildren, or neighbor children.