Category Archives: Obituaries

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.

Logan Wayne Thoene was born September 14, 1927 at Bonesteel, South Dakota to Fred and Lillian (Lunn) Thoene. He died February 7, 2016 at the Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the age of 88 years. Prior to his hospitalization Logan and his wife Leone lived in Sioux Falls at the Inn on Westport Assisted Living from the time that his health began failing.

Logan attended Bonesteel High School. At the age of 16 he took over the family farm and ranch when his father was struck by lightning and was killed. On March 9, 1948 Logan married Leone (Perlenfein) Thoene, the love of his life. To this union three children were born: Cindy, Fred and Shelley.

Logan and Leone operated the farm/ranch for most of their married lives where they farmed, raised registered Polled Herefords, and ran a grade A dairy, milking 100 cows. They also turned a hobby of making beautiful porcelain dolls into a full-blown business. Their dolls can be found in many states and in some foreign countries. They were honored when they were chosen to create the “official centennial doll” for the State of South Dakota in 1989. Logan and Leone moved to Sioux Falls in 1992. They also enjoyed their Florida home where they spent six months of every year.

Logan was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He was a kind and gentle man who loved his family dearly. He enjoyed working on the farm and raising cattle, which stemmed from his participation in 4-H at a very early age. He was also actively involved in the 4-H programs with his children. Logan loved making the porcelain dolls with Leone and taking them to shows. The beautiful flowers that adorned the Thoene yard were a source of pride.

In 1962 Logan was chosen as the “Outstanding Young Farmer of the Year” for the State of South Dakota. Over the years he was also honored with several conservation awards. Logan served on the Gregory County School Board, the local Bonesteel School Board, and the Pleasant Valley Township Board. He was a member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Bonesteel and later St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Sioux Falls.

Ruth Elizabeth (Peitz) Taggart was born in Winner, SD on December 6, 1935. She was the fourth of seven children born to William and Betty (Bruce) Peitz.

Growing up on the farm Ruth enjoyed walking to school with her brothers and sisters and playing with the neighbor girls. Her imagination for “make believe” was a great characteristic of Ruth’s creativity.

Ruth graduated from Colome High School in 1953. After high school she worked at The Winner Advocate. She loved her job and was good at it. Fate had different plans for her though as she soon met Paul Taggart, her love of 60 years. They married on November 12, 1955 and moved to Paul’s family farm northwest of Dallas, SD and raised five children. She was a wonderful wife, mother, and business partner. Ruth was active in her children’s school activities as well–serving as fund raiser and chaperone for various high school events. She never missed a wrestling match, baseball, football, or basketball game.

In 1980 Paul and Ruth along with the help of their five kids began one of the first commercial pheasant hunting operations in SD. They named it P&R Hunting Lodge. It was a great success and she took great pride in nurturing it. Her grandchildren grew up watching and learning from her. They will all tell you she was a great influence in shaping their lives today.

Ruth was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church. Her favorite saying was “You must walk through glass to get to mass”.

In 2010, Paul and Ruth moved from the farm and retired in Gregory, SD. From here she followed the grandkids in their sports activities. She was also a huge NFL fan and was always following her favorite teams and had great fun placing wagers on the game. She was an accomplished breadmaker and made it her duty to make sure that everyone got a taste. Her blue Lincoln car was fondly called the “blue bread buggy.” If you saw it, you can be sure she was delivering some warm rolls to someone. When asked why she did it, she would reply, “Because I want too.”

After a short illness, Ruth passed away February 10, 2016 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls at the age of 80 years.

Olive Juanita Sargent was born April 4, 1922 at Thermopolis, WY, to John E and Blanche (Brown) Hammett, Sr. and she died February 4, 2016 at the Avera Gregory Hospital in Gregory at the age of 93 years.
She was the oldest of six children. At the age of five her family moved to Upper Lodge Grass Creek near Lodge Grass, MT. Her father, John, was a cowboy and worked on various large ranches. They moved often to various cow camps. Olive attended several country schools while growing up. She attended Lodge Grass High School in Lodge Grass, MT. On December 12, 1940, Olive married Hollis Wayland Sargent at the Baptist Church in Hardin, MT. They traveled to Dixon to visit Hollis’s mother, Adelein and step-father, William Moore and family.
In 1947, Olive and Hollis moved to Bonesteel where they worked on a ranch. In 1958, they moved to Gregory where they farmed until 1961, then moved to Burke where they continued to farm. They later sold out and purchased a home in Burke where she continued to live after the loss of her husband.

Robin Heath Star Boy, age 26, of Mission, passed away on January 30, 2016. Funeral Services were held Feb. 4, at the Multi-Purpose Center in Mission. Burial followed at the St. Peter’s Catholic Cemetery. Wake services were held Tuesday, Feb. 2, and Wednesday, Feb. 3 at the Multi-Purpose Center in Mission

Nancy Kay (McNamara) Gunner died on the evening of February 4, 2016 in Sioux Falls, SD lovingly surrounded by her children after a long, valiant fight with cancer.

She was born on December 19, 1940 in Watertown, SD to Les and Marge McNamara and graduated with her beloved class of 1959 from Watertown High School. After graduating, she attended college in Aberdeen, SD until she attended a fraternity party at the University of South Dakota and met Larry Gunner. They were married on September 15, 1962 and after Larry graduated from dental school at the University of Minnesota, they settled in Martin, SD where Larry opened his practice and they began their many adventures. They raised their four children: Pam (Longmont, CO), PD/Philip (deceased), Eric (and Bill Roach, Delray Beach, FL), and Anna/Andrea (Sioux Falls, SD) and lived there for 36 years before they moved to Winner, SD and eventually Sioux Falls. In addition to her own children, she helped raise Wauneta (Curry) Lone Wolf McCall (dec.), Steve Johnson (dec.), and Eric Johnson, and several exchange students: Marco Aurelio de Suza (Brazil), Mik Fallesen (Denmark), Jean Francois Pernette (France), Elsa Viscarra Castro (Mexico), and Ignacio Sanchidrian (Spain), as well as Michelle Pernette (Jean’s brother) and Signe Fallesen (Mik’s daughter).

In her lifetime, Nancy owned two stores in Martin: a clothing store named Clancy’s and a craft store called the Happy “Latch” Hooker (an ode to her latch-hooking mother, Margie). She held an appointed seat on the SD Lottery Commission and was the chairman of the Bennett County Republican Party for many years. She worked as the proof-reader/editor of the Lakota Times newspaper and also worked at Gunner Family Dentistry both in Martin and Winner. After she moved to Sioux Falls, Nancy worked at Coldwater Creek and volunteered at the Washington Pavilion.

The Arts held a special place in her heart and Nancy loved seeing plays and attending the symphony. She enjoyed theatre at the Black Hills Playhouse equally as much as Broadway in NYC. She especially loved the Sioux Falls Symphony and was an active member of the SF Symphony League. Nancy was an adventurous soul and loved to travel, visiting many countries around the world and making friends everywhere she went. We often told her to stop telling people “If you’re ever in SD, look me up” because they always did; they all loved her. Her annual girlfriend’s trips to Mexico were a highlight of her life. She seldom had idle fingers and was usually knitting something for someone’s new baby or grandbaby. Nancy was an avid reader and always enjoying a good book – or two or three. Even while suffering the debilitating effects of her cancer, Nancy managed to read 86 books last year.

Always generous, Nancy gave her time and spirit to causes she held dear such as the Berakhah House, PFLAG, the Sioux Falls Banquet, and the Bennett County Library. She touched the lives of so many and her family is so grateful to the staff and doctors that helped her through this brave fight at McHale Institute, the Avera Prairie Center, Avera McKennan Hopsital and the Dougherty House especially Dr. Jerry Walton, Dr. Todd Sorenson, and Dr. Benjamin Solomon. Her infectious giggle and magnetic personality brought sunshine into so many lives. She will be dearly missed by all of those who were lucky enough to meet her.