Category Archives: Obituaries

June Arlene Moeller was born on September 8, 1933 at Mitchell, SD. June
married Weldon “Ray” Moeller, and they later divorced. She married Lee
Mowry on December 22, 1984.

June enjoyed many things such as an occasional trip to a casino,
cooking, and dancing. She took a trip of a lifetime when she traveled
to Europe touring many cities in the early 1980’s. She was also known for
having somewhat of a lead foot in which she received her share of
speeding tickets. Brenda said “June inherited that from her
great-aunt!”
One of her pastimes was sitting outside of Lil’ Feller and other
businesses watching people from her car.
Everyone has their own memories of June, but I am sure that we all
share one same memory of June; she was a very private person.

LaVern Nespor, age 81, of Winner, passed away on Sunday, March 6, 2016 at the Sanford USD Medical center in Sioux Falls.

Funeral Service were held at 10:30 AM Thursday, March 10 at the United Methodist Church in Winner. Burial followed at the Winner City Cemetery.

Vern was born on December 17, 1934 on the family farm near Hamill, SD to Joe and Agnes (Klima) Nespor. He was the youngest of 11 children.

In April 1957 Vern enlisted in the United States Army serving during peace time and then was honorably discharged in April 1959.

Vern married the love of his life, Beverly (Bev) Long on August 9, 1959 and to this union two children were born, Vicki Jean and Scott Alan.

Vern worked in the family hardware store and also as a farmer. He then worked for Carlson Construction as a mechanic, working on trucks and heavy equipment. He also worked for Bachmann Construction and finished up his working career helping his son Scott with carpentry work.

Vern loved hunting, fishing, and working in his garden and yard.

Robert (Bob) Cecil Johnson was born on a farm southeast of Lucas, SD, on December 31, 1931, and passed away on Sunday, March 6, 2016, at the age of 84. Bob had been hospitalized in Mitchell, Sioux Falls and Gregory since July 17, 2015, with serious health issues and underwent many surgeries prior to his death at the Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD.

He was the youngest of nine children born to Charles and Olive (Fish) Johnson. He grew up on the family farm and attended schools in the Lucas area. On November 13, 1952, at the age of 20, he enlisted in the Army at Ft. Campbell, KY. During the next two years, Bob was stationed at several military bases. Pvt. Johnson completed an Airborne course at Fort Benning, Georgia. The course was designed to train personnel from all arms and branches of the service as qualified chutists. Bob was also stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia where he took further training in Airborne tactics. Bob received several medals and badges during this time. He was honorably discharged on November 12, 1954.

After returning from the service, he returned home to work with his father and mother, and when his father passed away on February 11, 1966, he took over the family farm. Bob never married but put his heart into the farm. Bob traveled to many states visiting his extended family. He once took a fishing trip to the Florida Everglades with a childhood friend and travelled to Tennessee many times to visit his brother, Almon. His biggest passion was his Hereford cattle and horses. He enjoyed attending many cattle sales, bull sales and rodeos all around the region.

For many years each fall, Bob hosted cowboys from Minnesota making life-long friends. He loved horses. After retiring from the farm and moving to a home near Gregory, SD with his horses, he started building horse-drawn wagons –a hobby that he enjoyed greatly. He loved entering them in local parades and giving rides. Bob was always willing to help anyone, and was a great neighbor to many. He enjoyed many friends and family over the years and especially enjoyed their visits in the hospital during his last few months.

Mack Cox, age 65, of Colome, passed away on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at the Winner Regional Healthcare Facility. Memorial Service was held at 9 a.m. Monday, March 14, 2016 at Mason Funeral Home in Winner. Burial will be held at a later date.

A rosary was held held at 7:00 PM Sunday, March 13, 2016 at St. Isidore Catholic Church in Colome.

Mack was born March 16, 1950 in Richmond, VA to George W. and Myrtle (Stiltner) Cox, Mack was one of the first in his family to be born in a hospital. He attended Powhatan Schools and was an amateur boxer through his teens.
After graduation, Mack enlisted in the US Air Force and proudly served his country overseas completing tours in Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Upon his return, he served in Arizona, Denver and finally, Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. During his station, he met his wife of forty-three years, Tonna Pechota. They married February 3, 1973 at St. Benedict’s in Richmond, VA and, in 1978, moved back to South Dakota to start their family.

Mack was a self-starter and took enormous pride in his work. He owned Cox Drywall and worked as a subcontractor on huge projects all over the Midwest, away from his family for months at a time. He endured a long battle with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a degenerative disease that finally forced him to retire in 1995.

An avid sports fan, Mack coached all four of his daughters in AAU and YMCA basketball and presided over the Colome Athletic Boosters in the late 80s. He also played slow-pitch softball while on location during many summers on the reservation. A voracious reader, Mack loved arguing politics, sports and history with his friends and, later, his daughters and various strangers on the internet. He was a brilliant bridge player and was rarely contested in Jeopardy! or Trivial Pursuit.

Stan Ainsworth passed away at the age of 92 in Payson, AZ. Stan was born on January 19, 1924 in Deadwood, SD to Rena and Ellis Ainsworth.

Upon graduating in 1942 from Spearfish High School, he served in the Army Air Corp/USAF as a crew chief on a P51 in WWII. He married his sweetheart Joan (Moorhead) in 1946 and from this union, 7 daughters would be born.

Stan attended BHSU in Spearfish, SD where he was a defensive spark plug for the basketball team, obtaining Hall of Fame honors years later. He received a BS in Education and went on to teach in Buffalo, SD and Winner, SD while also coaching basketball, track and football. In his twenty five years of teaching, Stan was known as a caring educator who touched many lives.

While in Winner, Stan and Joan owned the Modern Cleaners and then went on to purchase the bowling alley. They then built the new Galaxy Inn and Star Lanes outside of Winner in 1975.

In 1979, Stan and Joan moved back to Spearfish, SD where he worked in construction for several years. He and Joan spent these years enjoying visits from family and friends. Stan was an avid sports enthusiast who worked out religiously and never missed any of his grandson’s games at BHSU. In 2005, the couple moved to Payson, AZ where he spent most of his days “raking the forest”, working on his tan and tending his garden on his daughter Doni’s property.

Russell Nelson Farnsworth 62, Winner passed away on February 24 at the Winner Regional Long Term Care Facility. Funeral services were held on Monday, February 29 at 10 a.m. at Mason Funeral Home in Winner. Burial followed in the Winner City Cemetery.
Russ was born on May 23, 1953 in Winner, S.D. to Lloyd and Ruth (Nelson) Farnsworth. He was raised on the family farm near Carter, S.D. attended Carter School and graduated from Winner High School in 1971. He graduated in 1980 from Western College of Auctioneering in Billings, Montana.

From an early age, he enjoyed being around livestock and pets. Russ worked for several ranchers and farmers in the Winner area and worked for the Winner Livestock Auction Company. He was a very good hand with cattle. Russ also managed the Elks Club for many years. He had a beautiful singing voice and sang at many funerals and weddings. Kenny said he always had a white shirt ready for him. Russ enjoyed deer hunting with his family and friends, keeping track of area sports teams and the Chicago Cubs, playing a good game of pitch and throwing darts. He had a good imagination and was never without a story or two.

After a protracted battle with cancer, Carmen Lenta Swensen (Boyer) died on February 19, 2016 in Winner, SD at the age of 52.

Memorial Service were held at 3:00 PM Tuesday, March 1, 2016 at the Winner-Ideal Community Hall. Burial will be held at a later date.

She leaves behind her partner Dick Ring , her daughters, Sarena and Sunday ; and her sons, Shane and Sheldon.

Carmen was born on August 31, 1963 to father Paul Boyer and mother Geri Wright, who predeceased her. She grew up in a large family with one sister and four brothers.

It is with heartfelt sadness that the family of Shelley Ann Budish announces her passing at the age of 63 years. Shelley passed away in her home on Friday, February 26, 2016 with her loving husband and son at her side after a courageous 5 year battle with cancer. Shelley Ann Kirsch was born on June 13, 1952 in Lynch, NE, the oldest of 7 children born to Gordon and Helen (Hansen) Kirsch. She graduated from high school in Seattle, WA and worked in the Human Services field for 40 years. She was united in marriage to Gary Budish on June 12, 1975 in Park River, ND. She was a devoted and loving wife and mother, always putting other people first.

Frieda Mae (Karel) Stritecky was born March 24, 1929 in a small farmhouse one mile west of Colome, SD. Frieda was the youngest of five children born to Louie and Flora (Bruns) Karel. She spent her childhood living with her parents, a brother, and three sisters on various farms near Colome and Dallas. Frieda attended all eight years of grade school in a one room rural school.

Following graduation from Colome High School in 1948, she attended Black Hills State College in Spearfish to get a semester of training for a teaching certificate. Frieda then taught school for a year before marrying Joseph Stritecky on June 11, 1949 at the Colome United Methodist Church.

They lived on a farm three miles northeast of Colome for the first 26 years. In 1976, they bought a home in Colome. Frieda continued to live there after Joe passed away in August of 2013. In April of 2015 she moved to Rose Manor Assisted Living in Colome where she was a current resident up until the time she passed away.

Frieda was a current member of the Winner United Methodist Church. She also spent several years driving school bus for the Colome School and made many friends. She treasured the time spent with her family. Joe and Frieda liked to travel. Their trips included Alaska and Hawaii besides visiting their children in and out of state.

Frieda passed away on February 10, 2016, at Avera Gregory Healthcare center at the age of 86. Frieda will be missed by all who knew her and enjoyed her cooking and game playing especially cards and Scrabble.

Aileen Claire Leat was born to C.L. “Ted” Leat and Freda Leat on July 11th, 1927, the second of eight children.
Aileen passed away on Monday, February 8th, 2016 in Apple Valley, MN, with her children and grandchildren surrounding her in her last days.
On April 12th, 1950, Aileen married Marvin Hopkins. After a brief stay in Winner, they moved to the Hopkins family homestead southwest of Winner. There she and Marvin raised seven children, cattle, hogs, chickens, a barn full of cats, the occasional dog, and one incredibly ill-tempered goose.
The family had a big garden every year, filling a small valley. Aileen grew rows of vegetables and flowers, and loved zinnias, cosmos, and 4 o’clocks. The house always had morning glories on the fence, and marigolds and petunias in the front. Aileen regularly canned tomatoes, green beans, peaches, pears, and always had plenty of food on hand. She would say, “no one goes hungry” on occasion, and no one did.
She ran her own ceramics business in the 70’s, firing pieces in her own kiln. Many of her children joined in and made all sorts of beautiful pieces, as well as a few ugly ones.
Aileen practiced lots of fiber arts, including sewing, quilting, crocheting, tatting lace, embroidery, cross-stitch, Hardanger, and knitting. There were always colorful mittens for winter and beautiful hand-crafts around the house. Her children received many quilts over the years, often made with fabrics from old dresses, shirts, curtains, and other items that would evoke memories. These quilts are treasured by all who received them.
In later years, she and Marvin worked as meat cutters for Dick and Pauline English before finally retiring.
Aileen’s children and grandchildren will remember her sweet smile, her stubborn German streak, her brook-no-nonsense approach to raising children, and the disapproving frown she would make. The frown curtailed a lot of shenanigans, and later in life made her adult children burst into laughter. She relished having her children and grandchildren visit, and enjoyed seeing them all smiling and laughing, and sometimes being incredibly loud and physical. Her boys were the source of a few broken couches, much to her annoyance.