Category Archives: Obituaries

Alice was born January 2, 1933, to William Peitz and Elizabeth (Bruce) Peitz. She was raised with two sisters and four brothers on a farm outside Colome South Dakota.

She entertained her twelve young ones with vivid stories of her youth, the basic amenities of those times, dust storms, cold winters, watching the land come to life in spring, helping her Mom prepare meals for thrashers that assisted in the harvest and experiences in the one room school house she attended from kindergarten to sixth grade.

Her love for music began at a young age listening to The Grand Ole Opry, on Saturday nights. When the radio batteries were weak, determined to hear her favorite performers. she would put her ear to the speaker, to enjoy songs by Ernest Tubb and other popular country singers of that era.

Upon graduation from Colome High School in 1950, Alice moved to the big town of Winner. She worked as a waitress at West Side cafe where she met “Big Marv the handsome Swede”. After a brief courtship the two eloped on April 22,1952 and following the birth of their 2nd child their marriage was blessed in the Catholic Church. Alice contacted polio at that time, which doctors said would immobilize her arms and upper body. She regained the strength in her arms by hanging clothes and lovingly caring for her family.

Marvin operated heavy equipment though out the state of South Dakota, which kept him away for weeks at a time, leaving Alice to care for her growing family. In 1968 the family was blessed with the eleventh sibling. Shelly was blind at birth and required many operations during her young years. Alice, determined to provide a main stream learning educational environment, relocated the family to Minnesota in 1972. The twelfth child Annie was also born that year.

In the course of her life, her children completed their education, with Shelly graduating from Rockhust University in Kansas City, marriages that blessed her and Marv with 31 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren, and two daughters and two sons that served their country in the military.

In 1989 Alice and Marv returned to their beloved state of South Dakota. She had worked at the University in Minnesota from 1976 until the move to Sioux Falls, and then resumed working until 2007 at Sioux Falls College (USF).

They belonged to the St. Joseph Parish, her dedication to the Catholic Church and the celebration of her God were apparent in her daily life. Every Saturday for many years both participated in the 24 hour Eucharistic Adoration.

Alice was a strong supporter of the Democratic Party, and over time had converted Marv.

In celebrating her life, she will be remembered for the love of her family, love of little babies, singing to her children, making and mending her children’s clothes, discussing current events, cooking and baking bread, working the “Jumble” puzzle in morning newspapers, and expressing herself through dance. As her children grew she could spend time helping Marv building and repairing houses.

Betty Ann was born in Lyman County on the way to the hospital as a triplet with Billie Mae and Bernard on January 31, 1930 to C. Edward and Naomi (Anderson) Schooler.  The trio was born as the middle children of a family of 15.  In 1934, the family moved from the family homestead south of Reliance to a farm south of Oacoma less than half a mile from White River.  Betty attended the Walker Country School through the eighth grade.  During the summers she worked in the two acres of gardens with her family.  She helped take care of her younger siblings and would help care for neighbors families.

Betty was united in marriage to Wayne Ellis on September 9, 1950 at Pierre, and to that union seven children were born: Danny, Dickey, Darrell, Nancy, Cindy, Annette, and Scott.  After their marriage, they lived near the river at Iona until 1952 when they moved to Hamill and began raising their family.  In 1969, they moved to Chamberlain where they continued to raise their children and later enjoy their grandchildren.

Betty worked as a cook at the Hamill School, and a waitress at the Rainbow Cafe and the Truck Arena.  She also worked as a cashier at Joe’s Super Value and most recently at Alco.  She was a Tupperware consultant for many years.

She enjoyed bowling, crocheting, and sewing.  She sewed and mended many items for people over the years.

Beverley Jean (Mason) Sinclair was born August 6, 1937 in Winner, SD, the daughter of Earl and Libby (Kotrba) Mason. She grew up in Winner, attending Winner schools and graduating from Winner High School in 1956.

During her school years Bev was involved in many activities including band, cheerleading, homecoming princess, school plays, and gymnastics. After graduation Bev attended the University of South Dakota for a semester before transferring to Nettleton Business College and completing a secretarial degree.

Returning to Winner she was employed by Ranchers National Bank (now First Fidelity) in Winner for a few years.
In 1963 she and Douglas Sinclair were married in Winner and a daughter Tera was born in 1965. Shortly after her birth the family moved to Dodge City, KS, and son Troy was born in 1967.

The family then moved to Huron, SD and son Trent was born there in 1971. Bev returned to Winner in 1978 and worked as the secretary for the Tripp County States Attorney. She later worked at Pamida until her retirement.

Bev was always happy to be a part of the Winner community. She made friends easily, enjoyed local conversations, loved to play cards and have coffee with friends, and watch her grandchildren and great nieces and nephew grow. She was a devoted mother. She was a past member of the ESA and Jobs Daughters.

Bev’s health began to decline several years ago and she became a resident of Elder Inn. Recently severe health problems developed requiring surgery in Sioux Falls from which she was unable to recover. Bev passed away peacefully on Sunday evening August 2, 2015 at the age of 77 years.

Dorothy was born October 28, 1924, to Daniel and Henrietta (McCoy) Shea at the Shea homestead south of Colome, the youngest of eight children.  She attended country grade school and graduated from Colome High School in 1943.  There she met her husband Kenneth Charles Kulbel.  They were married March 10, 1945 . To this union 5 children were born. They just celebrated their 70th Anniversary this past March.

Kenneth and Dorothy started their married life in Dallas, then moved to the Kulbel homestead place near Hamill.   They were engaged in farming and ranching for over 30 years, after retiring to Winner, they moved to Keystone, for almost 30 years before moving back to Winner.

Dorothy was a caretaker, always taking care of her husband and family.  She was a devoted member of the Catholic faith, whether she was in Colome, Hamill, Keystone, or Winner.  She loved her 15 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, 3 step great-grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, and many others whose lives she’s touched.

Throughout her life Dorothy enjoyed playing cards with friends.  She was very talented in her knitting and crocheting, sharing much of her fancy work with family and friends.  If you stopped by their house she always had homemade cookies.  From the ZCBJ Hall to the Senior Center, Dorothy and Ken loved to dance to their favorite band, the Easy Sounds (Tom and Diane).

Elaine was born in Winner, to Lloyd and Emiline (Good) Wagner and baptized in the Church of Christ. She grew up in many different areas, attended numerous schools and helped with a lot of chores. In Oregon at the age of 12 she worked in the fields; hoeing mint and corn by hand, picking beans, carrots, beets, strawberries, potatoes, and string beans. She enjoyed hunting, trapping, and fishing. Some of the many jobs she had include: working at the 5 & Dime stores, running reels for movies, waiting tables, and washing dishes.

In 1955 she married Cecil Hight and to this union 6 children were born; Clifford, Glenda, Mary, John, Betsy, and Calvin. Wherever she lived she always made a home; even out of a 10 x 8 shack. She became a nurse in 1956 helping all of her children from bruises to cuts to broken bones and helping to sew dad’s wounds. She made it work with whatever she had at the time. Over the years, the family moved wherever there was work. She worked alongside Cecil and also had various jobs of her own.

She loved and adored her children, adopted children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. She enjoyed helping out mowing lawns, painting or riding along to doctor’s appointments or to get parts. She was up for anything, especially a game of cards and no matter how late it became. She was lovingly called GG by her kids and grandkids and she loved it. She never complained about anything and would stand up for her kids no matter what.

She enjoyed going on vacations when she was able as well as horse races and casino trips. Her door was always open and she welcomed everyone who entered. She never had a mean bone in her body but wasn’t afraid to voice her opinion.

Alice Margaret Jorgensen Bobick was born in Winner, on March 16, 1927 and passed away on July 31, 2015 under wonderful care at the Winner Nursing Home.  Alice was the youngest of 9 children of Martin Sr. and Gertrude Jorgensen.  She was baptized, had her first communion and was confirmed at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Winner.  Her strong faith was with her throughout her entire life.

Her three year older brother Martin was her protector and very close friend.  Alice had scarlet fever at a young age and Martin would spend much time reading to her.  This strong relationship lasted a lifetime

Alice received her education in Ideal where she completed all her education except for her senior year.  At that time the Ideal High School was closed and she then finished her remaining education at Winner.  It was there that Alice met and became friends with Mary Storms who later became her sister in law.

After high school she got a job in the Tripp Co. Auditor’s office and worked there until her older sister Helen got her a job in 1946 at Farmers Union central exchange in St. Paul, MN where she worked for 30 plus years.  She worked in what they called a man’s business but moved up the ladder in promotions and sales.

In 1972 Alice married her second husband Jack Bobick and had 27 wonderful years together.  After Jack’s death, Alice remained living in St. Paul and enjoyed her many friends in MN.  In her later years Alice moved back to Winner to be closer to family.

Walter Edward Graesser was born on January 5, 1925 at the Gregory Hospital to Thomas D. & Neta (Stoltenberg) Graesser and died July 27, 2015 at Rosebud Country Care Center. He was the third of 4 children. Walt’s family lived in Carlock township until they moved to Valley township when he was four where he continued to live and raise his family until his retirement.

In 1943 he graduated from Gregory High School, after which he worked on the farm with his dad, taking over when his parents retired.  Walt married Arlene (Lebert) on May 27, 1950 at the Paxton Methodist Church and to this union Rod, Steve, Kevin and Karen were born.

Walt’s passion was attending the sporting events of his children and grandchildren and there was little that caused him to miss, even if it involved milking the dairy cows at 4 in the afternoon.  He loved working with horses and reminiscing about his special ones. One particular memory was during the winter of ’52 when roads were blocked with snow. Rod was a baby and became quite ill, requiring medication. The mailman was able to bring it as far as Carlock which was 10 miles away, so Walt rode his horse Rocket to get the medicine.  Another special memory was when he found his team of horses, Nip and Tuck. They, along with Dick and Jean Steffen hitched them to a covered wagon for the SD centennial and participated in the wagon train from Winner to Bonesteel.  Walt loved baseball. He played for Colome and had the opportunity to coach Rod, Steve and Kevin for several years. He also enjoyed watching his grandchildren play ball and talking Twins baseball, especially with grandson Carter.

His children have many memories of visiting neighbors which always involved a game of cards around the kitchen table. He continued to enjoy playing pitch with their many friends into his later years.

Ramona was born on May 18, 1936, to Edward and Lenora Ringing Shield in Rosebud, South Dakota.  Ramona was raised in Bad Nation, SD and graduated from St. Mary’s Catholic Boarding School in Springfield, South Dakota in May 1955.

Ramona married Martin Sidney High Rock on October 5, 1956.  From this union five children were born.  Bonnie Black Feather of Winner, SD; Ronald High Rock Sr. of Aberdeen, SD; Shirley Groskruetz of Minneapolis, MN; Brenda High Rock of Winner, SD and Lonnie High Rock of Rapid City, SD.  Ramona has 22 grandchildren and 36 great-grandchildren.

Ramona worked as a CNA at the Winner Regional Hospital in Winner, SD, a training officer at the Winner School District, as a coordinator with Family Planning, but her favorite job was being an excellent caring and loving mother and wife.  She was proud to say she was a homemaker because she was so good at it.

Victor Keith “Chipper” Burkinshaw was born on March 10, 1928 at the family ranch NW of Wood SD, to Vernon Victor and Clemintine Burkinshaw. He graduated from Wood High School. He was drafted during the Korean War into the Armed Services and did basic training at Camp Roberts, CA. On the completion of his duties he was honorably discharged and came home to take over the ranch as his father was failing with cancer. He then met and married Eunice Gilliland on November 26, 1955. They were married for 43 years before Eunice’s early passing. They were blessed with 3 children, Roger, Debbie and Cindy. After leaving the family farm and moving to Winner, he worked for Brown Oil Company for many years. He later moved to manage a motel and lastly he owned and operated a Credit Bureau.

Keith was a faithful, loving, honest and hard-working husband, father and grandfather. He also encouraged his family to never lose their faith in God. Keith sang at numerous funerals, weddings, church and other events along with his beloved wife, as she sang and played the piano, accordion and organ. He was a (witty) man who loved his family and was passionate about his faith. He set examples for his family members and also for living a Godly life. One of his greatest hobbies was gardening and yard work, spending time with Eunice, his family, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He was an active and dedicated member of the Wood American Legion for over 50 years and a member of The First Reformed Church in Mitchell. The family would like to thank all the caregivers at Avera Brady for their efforts, care and dedication.

Joey attended rural schools close to the Colome family farm until his parents moved to Winner.  He graduated from Winner High School and went to Mitchell Business School in Mitchell, SD where he received a degree in business.  Joey went to work at the Winner Cold Storage and a Winner Gas Station where he worked in the office.
Joey joined the United States Army and was stationed at various bases around the country during the Korean War Conflict and was honorably discharged in February 1953.  He worked in the mail department which led to a job for the US Post Office in Winner where he worked for 35 years.  Joey first worked as a mail carrier and later as a clerk.  He was well-liked by his patrons and co-workers.

Joey was an active and lifetime member of the American Legion, VFW and the Elks Club.  For many years Joey marched in the Labor Day Parade.  He also served as Commander of the American Legion and was Grand Marshal for the Labor Day Parade.  Joey was care taker for his father for many years until his father passed away.

Joey liked to read and was a stamp and coin collector.  He was an avid sports fan, he also enjoyed car races and listening to the local school ball games on his radio.  Joey enjoyed traveling when he was younger, a highlight for him was to see a Vikings game in Minneapolis. Joey occupied his free time with his dog Snoopy, his vegetable and flower garden, his farm, farm animals, listening to Bohemian music, and spending time with his family and friends.  Joey was a kind, giving, and warm-hearted man.  He always had a warm smile and hello for everyone that made them feel special and wonderful.