Category Archives: Obituaries

Gerald Dean Drey was born June 9, 1926 at Gregory, South Dakota to Albert and Edna (Jones) Drey and he died November 11, 2015 at the Rosebud Country Care Center in Gregory, South Dakota at the age of 89 years.

A memorial service was held Nov. 14 at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Burke with Father Godfrey Muwanga officiating. Burial will be at a later date at Graceland Cemetery of Burke.

Gerald attended the Rhodes School and the Catholic School in Gregory. He grew up on a farm east of Gregory. He later moved to a farm south of Burke, where he farmed with his dad and his brother.

In 1954 he was united in marriage to Edith Rang and to this union three children were born: Bruce, Jackie and Rodney. Together they lived and worked on a farm eleven miles south of Burke, where they also helped his father-in-law with farming. In 1964 they purchased a home in Burke and move into town. Gerald held many jobs throughout his life.

Due to health reasons, Gerald entered the TLC Assisted Living in Burke before moving to the Rosebud Country Care Center Nursing Home in Gregory. He had spent the last seven years in the nursing home.

Jane Lynn Nicolaisen, daughter of Edward and Lucille (Farnsworth) Nicolaisen was born on Feb. 9, 1958 in Winner. She grew up in Carter, and attended country school prior to attending Winner High School.

While competitive girl’s basketball may have been new to South Dakota, this sport was nothing new to this farm girl thanks to many hours spent growing up playing with her older brother and cousins.

Jane was a two sport athlete at Winner High School graduating in 1976. She was part of the first ever State Girls Basketball Tournament where she scored 70 points including one 31 point game. She was selected to the All-Tournament Team and was also selected to the All State 2nd team. She lettered in track two years and placed at the state track meet in discus.

She was recruited by Coach Curt Fredrickson to play women’s basketball at Northern State. Jane would like to remind Freddie that she gave him his first win and also his first loss. At Northern she was a three sport athlete competing in basketball, softball and volleyball. She lettered four seasons in basketball and softball and three years in volleyball. Jane was named the NSU Female Athlete of the year in 1976-1977. She scored 1,375 career points and had a 91 percent free throw average.

Long before the days of a smaller ball for girls or a three point line, Jane set records at both schools and many are still held to this day. She was named to the Northern State Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Winner High School Hall of Fame in 2013.

Following graduating in 1980 with a degree in education from Northern she went on to coach for a short time in Warner, S.D. In 1981 she began working for several agents managing the office for Northwestern Mutual in Aberdeen. Her persistence and attention to detail played a critical role in the success of agent Tootie Podoll. In June of 2015, Jane “Nic” Nicolaisen was honored with the Lifetime Service Award by Northwestern Mutual.

A practical jokester, Nic, as she was frequently called, would enjoy the opportunity to catch someone when they would least expect it. She loved being outdoors and always enjoyed softball, hunting and fishing. Outdoor activities have created many memories by her family and friends, some memories that can be shared in public and others that are best left to those that helped make them with her to remember with a smile. Jane favored western movies, old or new and she loved rainy days. In addition to her home in Aberdeen, Jane would return to her childhood home of Carter as often as time would allow.

Funeral services for Mary Lambley, age 77, of Burke, will be held on Monday, November 16, at 10:30 a.m. at the Civic Center in Burke. Burial will be in the Herrick Cemetery, Herrick. There will be a prayer service on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Burke. Visitation will be one hour prior to both services at the church and Civic Center.

Brayden James Worden, born May 23, 2015, passed away October 22, 2015.

Survivors include his parents, Michael and Michelle Worden; grandparents, Steve and Darla Jones and Ray and Karen Worden; great-grandparents, Douglas and Marilyn Jones, Jim and Darnytia Kucera, Ivan and Mary Wille, Norman Worden and Laura Knight; great-great grandparent, Olive Sargent; aunts and uncles, Jacob Worden, Nikki and Lee Huber and their children, Carter, Cole, and KyLee; and numerous relatives and friends.

Coreen Jean Harr was born August 23, 1936 in Gregory, SD to Harold and Inda (Blitzkie) Tarr. She grew up in St. Charles, SD and was baptized at St. Charles Methodist Church in 1939. She married Harold Dobbin in Lake Andes, SD on Dec. 29, 1952; they raised five children, Beverly, David, Lorin, Dorinda and Ellen.

Coreen enjoyed taking care of her home and cooking meals for her family. Fresh bread and cinnamon rolls were made nearly every week on the farm. When adult children came for a visit, she looked forward to preparing their favorite meals. Reading and crossword puzzles were two of her passions. Even when her children were little, she took time to solve the daily newspaper puzzle. She also enjoyed a slice of pie and any flavor of ice cream. She loved animals, especially cats and was a strong supporter of the Humane Society. Her beloved cats, Leo and Charlie, were considered part of the family. She was a member of the Democratic party and was always ready to discuss current events. In 2000 she moved from Winner to Sioux Falls to be closer to family.

Darrell, son of Elmer and Mary (Beranek) Foss was born March 7th, 1939. During his youth he grew up and worked on the family farm near Hamill, SD. Darrell attended and graduated from a country school located near the farm. He enjoyed working on the farm with his parents and the winter vacations they would take traveling across the United States.

On January 14th, 1958 Darrell was united in marriage to Darlene Schmidt. Through this marriage three sons were born, Michael, Kelly and Todd. Darrell and Darlene lived and worked on the family farm which they later owned and operated until their retirement in 2012. In 2014 they left the farm and moved to Winner.

Darrell was a regular fixture at the Winner Livestock Auction. He worked almost every Friday sale for nearly 50 years beginning when he was 18 years old. Darrell’s passion for hard work, farming and ranching ran deep.

Darrell spoke frequently of all the joyous times he spent with long time friends Bob Daughters and the late Darrel Orel both of Hamill, SD and his Brother-in-law the late Daniel Bolander of Winner, SD during his teen years and throughout his life.

Darrell was an avid outdoorsman and sports enthusiast. He loved hunting, fishing and camping. He enjoyed attending and watching the local high school sporting events and stock car racing. His biggest joy came from spending time with his family and friends.

Floyd was born on January 24, 1936 in Bowdle, SD to Anton and Magdelina Heilman.  He was the youngest of 5 siblings.  He lived some of his young life with his sister Lenora and husband Pius Malsam.  Their son Bob Malsam was like a brother to him.  He went from a class of 8 in Roscoe, SD to a class of 400 in Aberdeen his senior year.  Floyd graduated from Aberdeen Central in 1955.

Floyd entered the Army in February of 1956, serving in the Korean Conflict for 18 months.  He was honorably discharged in January 1959.

Floyd married the love of his life Virginia Miller on January 8, 1966.  They were blessed with three children.  Twins, Pamela and Patricia, four years later Peggy was born.
There weren’t many people in Winner and the surrounding area he did not know or who did not know him.

Floyd worked construction for Bradbury construction of Aberdeen, John A. Carlson Construction of Winner, and Virgil Miller Construction of Winner.  He hauled propane for Westside Propane and Skelgas for many years.  He also worked at Country Pride COOP fertilizer plant, retiring in 2011.

Floyd was a very proud member of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Winner.

Ivan Dale Ewing was born near Dallas, SD on April 22, 1925 and died on October 14, 2015. He grew up and lived most of his life in Tripp County.

Ivan, also known to many as Bus or Buster, was inducted into the Army on September 22, 1943 and served as Squad Leader in the 16th Armored Division. He served in the European Theater of Operations in the 16th Tank Battalion of Headquarters Company. As squad leader Ivan was in charge of the heavy mortar squad, trained and taught battle tactics to enlisted men, supervised the work of 5 men, and was acting 1st Sargent for 3 months. Ivan was also a drill sergeant and prison guard for American prisoners at Camp Chaffee and German prisoners in France. On May 20, 1946 Ivan was honorably discharged.

On April 30, 1947 Ivan married his sweetheart, Ardath Hopkins. Together they began ranching and raising their family of four children. They were married for 68 years.

Ivan loved his ranch and worked hard to acquire it. As he looked across his land he often would say “How green is my valley.” He took great pride in the quality of his cattle, the land and even his corrals and well built sturdy loading chutes that he built with his two sons, Bob and Neil.
Ivan served on the South Dakota Brand Board and felt honored to be asked to do so. He was a leader in his community and his church, the United Methodist Church.

He frequented the sale barns and loved talking about the cattle business over a cup of coffee. At home his friends and neighbors always knew coffee was hot and ready to be served along with a few good stories, jokes, and laughs.

Bessie Bette (Birger) Warejcka was born on July 11, 1923 to John and Mary (Vnoucek) Birger in rural Winner, SD. She graduated from Fairfax High School in 1941 and completed Lincoln Beauty School. She worked as a Beautician in Lincoln, NE for four years and then owned and operated the Bonesteel Beauty Shop for a year. On April 9, 1947 Bessie was united in marriage to Arthur Warejcka in Fairfax, SD. Together they farmed and raised livestock.

Bessie was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church, the Good Will Circle and the American Legion Auxiliary of Platte. She enjoyed cooking, baking, gardening, sewing and polka dances. A gifted musician, she taught herself to play the accordion and harmonica.

Berniece Hansen, 91, of Winner, passed away on Wednesday, October 14, 2015 at the Winner Regional Healthcare Center in Winner.  Funeral services were held on Monday, October 19, at 10:30AM at the United Methodist Church in Winner. Burial followed in the Winner City Cemetery.

Berniece R. Hansen was born the second youngest of seven children on April 25, 1924, in Randolph,Neb., to Levi Lookabill and Roena Larson. At the age of two she moved with her parents to a farm three miles east of Wood, South Dakota. She spent the early years of her life on the farm and often commented on the difficulties of rural life during the hard economic times of the depression and the grasshopper plague of the mid 1930’s.

Her father, Levi, often had to hitch a ride with the rural mail carrier to Winner, to buy groceries, usually staying overnight. He would return the following day with only what he could carry.  Meanwhile, the grasshoppers would be eagerly eating the clothing off of the clothesline. Since state Highway 44(which was then gravel) ran near the farm, Levi got a job grading the highway using horses to pull the grader. That job provided much needed cash which helped sustain the family during the depression. He also owned a tractor and threshing machine, and would travel the area doing custom threshing for other farmers. Berniece would often assist with preparing meals for the hungry crews that traveled the countryside providing the labor for the threshing machine.  Berniece was often asked to assist with the farm work. Rattlesnakes cruising nearby while she was herding sheep on horseback were a vivid childhood memory.

Berniece attended elementary and high school in Wood, graduating in 1942. She was a member of Wood High School girls basketball team.

On September 10, 1942, Berniece married Clair Hansen in Winner, South Dakota, and moved to the Hansen family farm founded in 1909 by J.T. and Maude Hansen near Carter, South Dakota. Together they operated the family farm and were joined by daughter Bonny(Lester) in 1944, son Jerry in 1945, and son Dennis in 1952. As the years went by, the farm and the family grew and prospered. In 1988 Clair and Berniece purchased a home in Winner, South Dakota. Clair and Berniece continued to operate the farm for 61 years until Clair passed away in 2003. Berniece lived in the home in Winner until failing health forced her to retire to the Golden Prairie Manor in March of 2015. Berniece remained active with the family farm after Clair’s passing, paying her own bills and making decisions until she passed away suddenly on October 14, 2015. Today, the farm is one of the oldest under
continuous family ownership in Mellette County.

Berniece spent her entire life caring for and seeing to the needs of her precious family. Berniece was most fond of the times remembered with friends and family, especially during the holidays. Berniece and Clair would eagerly open their home whenever the occasion arose. Christmas Eve was spent with the Lookabill family and Christmas Day with the Hansen family. There were great family dinners that always ended with a rousing pitch game. Berniece was also a charter member of the Idle-AWhile woman’s club and always looked forward to socializing with other farm wives.

In later years, Berniece and Clair enjoyed traveling. Their preferred method of travel was the organized bus tour. They always felt that they could see more sights and enjoy more activities if they traveled with others who knew the way. They also enjoyed the camaraderie of their fellow travelers immensely, especially, Frank and Alice Kriz, Sam and Pauline Adel, Dale and Helen Lookabill, Darlene and Jay Pearsall and many, many others. Their favorite trip was the first one that they booked. It was to New England and eastern Canada to enjoy the autumn colors. Eventually, they toured all 50 states and a good portion of Canada.

In addition to traveling, Berniece enjoyed collecting antique dishes and furniture, and spending time with her children and grandchildren. She would often join sister-in-law Betty Hansen on forays to other South Dakota towns in search of unusual or interesting antiques. Lately, she enjoyed giving away many of her “treasures” to her children and grandchildren, whom she enjoyed immensely. She leaves behind a substantial legacy of collectible items and fond memories.