Chester Jorgensen, 100, of Winner, SD passed away at his home on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020.
Funeral service were held on Saturday, Oct. 31, at he First Baptist Church in Winner, SD. Burial followed in the Winner City Cemetery.
Chester Howard Jorgensen was born on April 21, 1920 to Martin and Edith Jorgensen at the farm near Clearfield, SD. Martin and his brother Nels emigrated from Denmark and homesteaded in Tripp County. Edith Martin was a neighbor renting land with her brother. Edith and Martin were married on April 29, 1919 in Winner, SD.
Chester was the oldest of eight children, and he attended Clearview grade school all 8 years. He, his siblings, and neighboring children often walked to school and life-long friendships were formed.
Chester enrolled in Colome High School but only completed a partial year, he and his father both contracted pneumonia and were hospitalized. His father did not survive so at 15 years old Chester stepped into the father figure role to help his mother run the farm, to help provide for his siblings and extended family through many years of hardship, poverty and the depression.
The Jorgensen family attended Star Prairie Church near Clearfield, and there Chester met Merle Meyer, daughter of Grover and Anna May Meyer. They got acquainted, courted and were married there June 30, 1951. They purchased a farm nearby where they lived and raised their 3 children Paul, Terry and Janice. Merle taught elementary schools in Tripp and Todd counties before marriage and after her children were school age for much of her married life. Chester, a life-long Tripp County resident, respected and loved the land; farming and family were his focus and joy. Although he never finished his formal education Chester never stopped learning. He read and researched anything and everything from repair and how-to manuals, encyclopedias and current magazines and newspapers.
Chester never formally retired, but due to Merle’s and his own health issues he reluctantly moved into Winner from the farm and shortly after that into Paul and Rhonda’s home in Winner.
Their home became the gathering spot for birthdays, holidays and vacations for the growing family circle.
Chester’s face lit up with every greeting, hug and conversation. He cherished each time together from cuddling each new grand and great-grand baby to big reunions with nephews, nieces, in-laws and extended families on all sides.
Chester was preceded in death by his parents Martin and Edith Jorgensen; his siblings Marvin, Russell, Eugene, Doris, Dwain, Opal (Pederson) and Peter, his spouse Merle, four brothers-in-law Otis, Lloyd and Norman Meyer and Stuart Pederson, 3 sisters-in-law: Virginia, Margaret and Dorothy Meyer, his son-in-lawBernard Born and nephew Keith Meyer.
Chester is survived by his children Paul (Rhonda) and Terry (Mary Carroll) Jorgensen, and Janice Born; his grandchildren Lonnie Jorgensen, Kendra (Kris) Jorgenson, Heather (Doran) Hamburger, Hannah (Paul) Degner and Justin (Kelsey) Jorgensen; his great-grandchildren Jadyn Jorgensen, Erika, Ethan, Cadence, Sierra, Elijah and Nataya Hamburger; Ava, Ariel, Asher and Amos Jorgensen, Kyren and Natalie Jorgensen, and Phineas and Silas Degner. He is also survived, by 1 sister -in-law Delores (Dwain) Jorgensen, and 17 nieces and nephews and their families
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