Monthly Archives: August 2019

Raymond Burch Jr., 66, of Winner SD passed away on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019.

Raymond Joseph Burch Jr. was born Feb. 1, 1953 to Raymond and Margaret (Harcher) Burch in upstate New York. Ray graduated from Boulder High School in 1971.

After high school, Ray became a welder which began his journey of being able to fix just about anything. In Boulder, he worked at Complex Tooling for over 20 years before moving to Winner in 1994.

In the Winner area, Ray worked in the fields of maintenance, masonry, landscaping and more.

Ray was an absolute adventure seeker – whether it be hiking over the continental divide, skydiving, snowboarding, target shooting or riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, he loved the thrill. He was a loving husband, father, brother and grandfather. Ray was a phenomenally hard worker, excellent marksman, and would genuinely do anything to help others.

Ray enjoyed spending time with family, spoiling his grandchildren, telling stories (lots and lots of stories) of his past, catching up with old friends, and sneaking in as much hunting and fishing as time would allow. One of his favorite stories to tell was when he caught a 15 1/2 lb. northern that was 41 inches long out of the Tripp County stock dam.

He loved telling stories about how many times he jumped out of airplanes and his crazy adventures. His wild side left him with many nicknames such as Ripcord, Major, Radar, and Green Beret Ray.

Ray is survived by his wife, Sheila Burch of Winner, daughter Melanie (Laramie) Unzen of Sioux Falls SD, grandchildren Jase and Cierra, and brother William Burch of Frederick CO.

Ray is preceded in death by his parents, Raymond and Margaret Burch and brother Brian Burch.

A private memorial service will be held at a later date. “It is not the length of life, but depth of life.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Janet Joye (Aitken) Leonard of Spearfish SD and formerly of Rapid City died Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019.

She was born Dec. 14, 1922 to Noble and Jessie (Boerner) Aitken of Winner SD.

On June 30, 1950 she married Robert Leonard. They lived in Burke and Sioux Falls before moving to Rapid City in 1963 where Robert ran the YMCA health club and was a masseuse.

She is survived by her daughters Joye Greeson of Sioux Falls, Carla (John) Heavlin of Rapid City and Anita ( Larry) DeKramer of Lake Madison SD, and daughter-in-law Vicki Leonard of St Paul MN. Eight grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Robert in 1967, son Gene in 1997 and sister Carol V Jones.

A private family gravesite committal service will be held in Burke SD.

Douglas D. Kloppel was born in Alliance, NE, on Oct. 8, 1951, to Duane and Madeline (Loeb) Kloppel. Doug had one sister Marilee and they grew up on ranches in Hay Springs, Wood Lake, and Bassett, NE. In 1957, the family moved to a ranch south of Winner, SD. Doug went to school and graduated from Colome High School in 1969.

Douglas married Donna Rohde in 1970 and they had three sons—Joseph, Jedediah, and Justin.

Doug served in the U.S. Navy from 1971-1975. He was stationed in San Diego, CA and NAF Atsugi, Japan and received an honorable discharge.

Doug joined the Spearfish Police Department in 1976 and received his BS degree from Black Hills State University while working full time. He retired from the Spearfish Police Department in 1996 and entered the insurance business full time and then part time.

Doug and Donna retired in 2011, traveled the US, and spent winters in Arizona City, AZ.

Doug enjoyed hunting, fishing, golf, and spending time with family and friends. His heroes were his dad, his three sons, and, of course, John Wayne. He was a member of the American Legion, Masonic Lodge, Naja Shriners, and the Western South Dakota Buckaroos. Doug was proud to be involved in the start of the Spirit of Sue Award honoring Sue Ann Big Crow at the State High School Basketball Tournaments. He was also on the Committee that created the SD Law Enforcement Memorial on the Capitol Grounds in Pierre, SD.

Doug passed away on Aug 19, 2019 at the Avera Gregory Hospital.

He was preceded in death by his parents.

Doug is survived by his wife, Donna; three sons; Joseph Kloppel of Clearwater, FL, Jedediah (Andrea) Kloppel of San Diego, CA, and Justin Kloppel of Jacksonville, FL; three granddaughters, Isabella of Lincoln, NE, Sophia of Tallahassee, FL, and Olivia of San Diego, CA; one grandson, Reece Kloppel of San Diego, CA; one sister, Marilee (Tim) Anton of Pierre, SD; and a nephew Alec Anton.

Monte Kahler, age 78, died at home Aug. 19, 2019, with his wife and daughter at his bedside.

He was born in Colome, SD, spent six years in the Navy, then moved to San Diego with his family where he became a bus driver for Greyhound. He and his wife, Janet Kahler, began investing in real estate.

In 1983, Monte and Janet relocated to Rapid City, SD where they continued to pursue their real estate business.

Monte is survived by his wife, Janet, his daughter, Deonne Kahler, and his nieces, Michelle Kroska and Sheila Staples. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Letha Kahler, his sister, Joanne Brickman, and his brother-in-law, DeWayne Brickman.

Monte will be buried at a later date in Colome and arrangements have been placed in the care of Behrens Wilson Funeral Home in Rapid City, SD.