Category Archives: Obituaries

Neal Farley, age 61, of Colome, SD passed away on Wednesday Oct. 23, 2019 at the Avera Gregory Health Care Center in Gregory.

Memorial services will be held on Wednesday Oct. 30, 2019 at 10 a.m. at the First Christian Church in Winner. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the services.

Neal was born to Guy and Evelyn (Larsen) Farley on June 30, 1958, joining his big sister, Jane Elaine. He attended grade school and high school in Todd County.

On June 5, 1972 Neal and David were in a 3-wheeler accident that left Neal in critical condition. He lost half of his liver and his gall bladder and required 9 units of blood. He was a fighter and was released after being hospitalized 64 days.

He graduated from high school in Mission in 1977. Then he attended and graduated Gun Smithing School in Denver, CO. There he made some long-term friends. After that, he went to work on the Ed Pajl farm and during that time he met the love of his life, Julie Ann Stevens. They married on Sept. 24 1982. He worked for Ed for several years.

Then Neal went to work at the ID Ranch north of Sinclair, Wyo. During that time, he had at least two major surgeries to remove scar tissue. He qualified for a liver transplant, which he received on April 10, 1989. This required his doctors to complete a 30+ hour surgery.

Julie worked and Neal volunteered at Needs, Inc. in Cheyenne, Wyo., in order to stay close to Denver. In 1990 they moved home to help her mom when her stepdad passed away. They moved to their place near Colome and built up that place, living there in 1992. Neal loved his cattle, his special horse Blackjack, as well as other horses, geese, dogs, cats, etc… Neal loved all animals.

Following that they worked in Presho, Custer and Sturgis Convenience Stores, then moved back to their place in about 2005. Due to his poor health, Neal did what he could while Julie worked. He spent his days with his family and friends. Neal was Denver’s longest living transplant patient.

About two years ago he had to start kidney dialysis.

Neal leaves to mourn, his wife Julie Ann, his mother Evelyn Farley of O’kreek, brothers David (Wilma) of White River and Donnie (Denise) of Mission, brothers-in- law Mike Nahnsen, Daniel Snethen, Ron (Jean) Snethen, Mike Stevens, sisters-in-law Dawn Snethen and Karen (Craig) Scheely, as well as several aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

He was preceded in death by his father Guy Farley, his sister Jane Farley Nahnsen, grandparents George and Velma Farley and Herman and Zella Larsen, mother and father in laws Richard and Dorothy Snethen.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Neal’s family for the memorial of their choice.

Richard “Rick” Pinney, 67, of Rock Springs, Wyoming passed away of a sudden illness in Salt Lake City, Utah on October 12, 2019.

He was born to parents, Warren and Phillis Pinney, of Souix Falls, South Dakota on November 16, 1951.

Rick attended grade school in Huron, South Dakota, and Deadwood, South Dakota, and graduated in Winner, South Dakota in 1970, where he played many sports.

After high school, he went to Mitchell Vo Tech and studied to be an electrician and became a journeyman electrician.

In 1982, he married his beautiful wife, Bonnie (Tatro) Pinney, in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. They resided in South Dakota until they moved to Rock Springs in 1984 where they lived until the time of his passing.

Rick was a very caring and loving husband, dad, brother, grandpa, and friend. He loved to go fishing, skiing, working on old cars, riding his Harley Davidson, was an avid Rockies fan, and he was also an active member of the American Legion Post 24.

Rick is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Bonnie, sons Nick (Julie) Zimmerman of Gillette, Wyoming, Richie (Jennifer Haapala) Zimmerman of Aurora, Colorado; grandkids, Sarah (Jesse) Raisaned of South Dakota, Anthony Kingston of Michigan, Trayon Haapala of Rock Springs, Monika Gibbson of Casper, Wyoming, Brendon Smith, Chris McInturff, and Rod Smith, all of Gillette; sisters Cheryl (Melvin) Littau, Teri (Edward) Turgeon, and brother Timothy Pinney of Winner, South Dakota; sister-in-law Joan Engraff of North Dakota, brother-in-law Harry (Chuck) Tatro of Montana, sister-in-law Jackie Blade of Rock Springs, and brother-in-law Rick Tatro of Sturgis, South Dakota; and several niece and nephews.

Rick was preceded in death by parents, Warren and Phillis Pinney, three special dogs Misty, Tasha, and Cocoa, and his kitty Buster.

The family would like to say thank you to the Rock Springs Fire Department, Sweetwater Medics, Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County, Air Meds of Salt Lake City, Life Flight, University of Utah Hospital, friends, extended family, and the American Legion Post 24.

Services will be held on Sunday, November 3, at 1 pm at the American Legion Post 24’s new building, 551 Broadway St.

All flowers should be sent to 3302 Sierra Cir., Rock Springs, Wyoming, or the American Legion Post 24, 551 Broadway St.

Funeral services for Kathleen Achterhoff were held Oct. 21 at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Burke. Burial was in Graceland Cemetery in Burke.

Kathleen Marie Broome Achterhoff was born April 9, 1951 in Burke, SD to Walter and Marie Broome. She passed away Oct. 13, 2019 at home surrounded by her loving family.

Kathy attended school in Burke and graduated in 1969. After high school she attended beauty school in Sioux Falls. She then moved to Minneapolis for a year, and then to Winner, SD working as a CNA.

In 1976 she married Randy Achterhoff and to this union 2 children (Jeremy and Jessica) were born. In 1982 she moved back home to Burke, SD where she worked at the Burke Hospital until retiring in 2013.

Kathy loved her friends in Burke and having coffee and visiting was her favorite thing to do. She then moved to Clarkson, NE to be close to her children and grandchildren. Kathy lived her life for her children and grandchildren, a weekend didn’t usually go by without at least one of them begging to sleep at Grandma’s.

She loved watching Husker football with her oldest grandson Lane, cooking and teaching new recipes to her granddaughter Hailey, and allowing the three youngest grandkids to do anything they wanted because they were at her house and in her house it was her rules.

Kathy was preceded in death by parents Walter and Marie Broome, her stepfather Howard Frey, and her sister Theresa Horst.

Blessed to have shared her life were her son Jeremy (Brenda) Achterhoff of Bellevue, NE, daughter Jessica (Barret) Kudera of Clarkson, NE, brother Jack (Marcia) Broome of Burke, SD, sister MaryAnn (Terry) Klug of Burnsville, MN, brother Joe (Sharon) Broome of Colorado, brother Jim Broome of Clarkson, NE, her 5 grandchildren Lane, Hailey, Bennet, Mackenna, and Ayden, and several nieces and nephews and friends.

Mary Jane (Legge) Devish Kaplan of Winner, South Dakota passed away on Oct. 8, 2019 at Winner Regional Long Term Care at the age of 95.

Mary Jane requested no formal funeral service, however, there was a graveside service and burial at the Winner City Cemetery on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019 at 2 p.m.

Mary Jane Legge Devish Kaplan was born on Nov. 23, 1923 to George Custer and Amelia (Horak) Legge at their homestead west of Clearfield, South Dakota.

She attended Dorian Meadows School which is now at the Winner Historical Society. She road the train to North Bend, Nebraska for her first year of high school, then attended two years of high school at Beaver Creek and graduated from Winner High School in 1941 as a member of the National Honor Society. She then went to Southern State Normal School in Springfield, South Dakota and ended up teaching at Dorian Meadows and South Longview.

After her brothers went to the service, she helped out on the family farm.

On Feb. 7, 1948, she married Johnny Devish. They managed the pool hall in Clearfield and later moved to Winner. Mary Jane worked at Gibson’s, the Lee Store, Miller Bros and W.H. Sturges Co.

Johnny passed away in 1996. She later married Darrel Kaplan and they divorced.

She lived in her home in Winner until 2012 when she moved to the Golden Prairie Manor.

Mary Jane was a fun loving lady and had an infectious laugh. She enjoyed trips to the casino, “several” competitive games of pitch and visiting with everyone. She had a kind heart and will be missed by many.

She is survived by her sister-in-law, Margaret Legge, and numerous nieces, nephews and great-nieces and great-nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, George and Amelia, husbands, Johnny and Darrel, brothers, Gerald, George, Kenneth, Judson, Harry, SD “Buck” and Robert, and three sisters, Thelma Vosika, Ruth Zibell and Irene Stillwell.

Maxine Klein, age 98, of Winner, SD passed away on Saturday Oct. 5, 2019 at the Winner Regional Long-Term Care Center in Winner.

Funeral services were held on Monday Oct. 14, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. at the Church of Nazarene in Winner. Burial followed in the Winner City Cemetery.

Visitation was held on Sunday Oct.13, 2019 from 5-7 p.m. at the Mason Funeral Home in Winner.

Maxine Marvel (Mann) Klein was born on a rainy April 5, 1921 to George and Myrtle (Patterson) Mann. She joined three older sisters. She was delivered by Dr. James Quinn in a farmhouse nine miles north of Colome.

At the age of five, she moved with her family to a farm south and west of Millboro. Here, she spent her childhood days. She attended Shadley Valley Grade School for her elementary years. For ninth grade, Maxine went to another country school called Beaver Creek. When that school didn’t have high school any more, she finished high school at Millboro High School. Here, school was held in the community church. Maxine graduated there in 1940 with a class of eight students.

Deciding to become a teacher, she went to college at Southern State Normal School at Springfield, South Dakota. She attended for one year and earned a teaching certificate. For the next three years, she taught in rural schools around Winner.

Maxine met the love of her life, Conrad, while boarding at his sister’s. After a four year courtship, they were married. The young couple lived with his mother for a few years and farmed until Conrad’s mother died and the homestead was sold. They continued to farm around Burke for a few more years. They moved to Tripp County in 1951. By this time, they were blessed with three children, David, Joan, and Dale. For the next fifteen years, they farmed around Winner. Their family had grown to six. Janice, Debby, and Susan had joined the Klein crew.

They moved into Winner, and Maxine went back to teaching. She taught in Tripp County for the next 21 years. In 1976 Maxine earned her bachelor of science degree from Vermillion and taught 10 more years.

After retiring from teaching, Maxine started making patchwork quilts. Her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren all have one or more of the quilts she made. She also started doing some volunteer work at her church and at the nursing home.

Maxine touched the lives of many youngsters during her teaching years. She loved teaching. She especially loved getting the programs ready for the students to perform for their parents. During her retired life, it gave her great pleasure to meet up with her students and to stop and visit with them to find out how they were doing and just remember the good days in the classroom.

Tragedy struck the family in 1979 when Conrad suffered a crippling stroke which left him completely helpless. For the next six years, he was confined to a nursing home. Maxine spent many hours visiting him while he was there.

Susan and her four children came home to live with Maxine after Conrad’s stroke. They lived with her for the next six years. Grandma Maxine watched over Susan’s brood while Sue went to college and got her bachelor’s degree in teaching, following in her mom’s footsteps. The family lost Susan in 1988. She had ovarian cancer and died from a blood clot while in St. Luke’s Hospital in Fargo, North Dakota.

Maxine loved life and enjoyed volunteering and playing cards and drinking coffee with friends, but family was always first. She really enjoyed organizing family reunions and gathering her group together every year or so. It was a passion with her. She also loved her Lord and prayed for her family every day and sometimes several times a day.

Maxine said, “I have had a great life. I had a loving husband and six great kids. What more could I have asked for? I have seen a lot of changes in my lifetime. I lived when cars were a rarity and telephones were just a luxury. I was born out in the country where Dr. Quinn made house calls to deliver babies. I walked a mile and a half to school with my siblings. We walked during the Dirty Thirties when we all took a hold of hands and followed the fence line so we wouldn’t get lost because you really couldn’t see your hand in front of you because of the dust. The wind was blowing so hard you couldn’t stand up. I lived through the Great Depression and two wars. Yes, I have had a good life.”

Leaving this old world before her were her parents, her husband Conrad, her daughter Susie, great granddaughter Ama, sisters Isabel, Lela, Percy, Dorothy, Twila, and brother Bud.

Maxine is survived by her children–David (Linda) Klein of Pierre, SD; Jo (Jack) Dooley of Oacoma, SD; Dale (Penny) Klein of Arizona City, AZ; Jan Klein of Zumbrota, MN; Debby (Rick) Bice of Ideal, SD–15 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, 5 great-great-grandchildren, her sister Dolores Soles of Winner, SD, and many nieces and nephews.

Marlene Lovell passed away on Sept. 29. She was afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease for the last 10 years of her life.

Born in Colome on Aug. 17, 1938, she was the fourth child born to Charles and Leona Lovell.

Marlene had a remarkable life accomplishing many things. After graduating from Smithland,Iowa, high school, she worked for Mutual of Omaha for several years. She then moved to Denver and joined United Airlines as a stewardess.

Her roommate in stewardess school was Dottie Lamm who later became the wife of the governor of Colorado.

Marlene married John F. Benolken of Omaha, Neb. and they had a son, John. Marlene and her husband were divorced in 1965.

Marlene then moved back to Denver and attended the University of Colorado. She graduated with a B.S. degree in English education.

While attending CU, she worked in the remake of Stagecoach as a stand-in for Stephanie Powers.

She made friends with one of the stars, Bing Crosby because her former father in law had been his roommate at Gonzaga.

Marlene also worked as a John Robert Powers model while attending CU. She then attended Denver University and earned a master’s degree in library science. She worked for Cherry Creek schools for 20 years as a librarian and media specialist retiring in 1991.

In 1991, she moved to Green Valley. After a year, Marlene returned to teaching at the Tucson Unified School District. She taught at Sahuaro and Santa Rita high schools for five years. She retired again in 1998.

Marlene loved to travel. She took her father to England in 1981 where they discovered a long lost cousin Percy Lovell in Wedmore.

Marlene and her husband Cal traveled all over the world to more than 60 countries. Marlene’s favorite country, of course, was England, the home of her ancestors. Her great grandfather was born in Wedmore.

A member of the DAR, Marlene was also an avid genealogist and was registered with the National Genealogical Society. She wrote a book about her family in 2001. She had been compiling research for over 25 years.

She was active in the Green Valley Genealogical Society and was on the board of the Joyner-Green Valley Library. She was also a member of the Green Valley Country Club for more than 25 years.

She is survived by her husband, Cal Kemp and her son John F. Benolken II. She is also survived by her sister, Delores Kay Biggerstaff (Don) and their four children, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She is also survived by sister, Gae McDonald (Jim).

Her brothers Skip, Buzz and John preceded her in death. Skip also had Alzheimer’s.

She is also survived by a cousin Chuck McLinn (Doris).

Should you wish to honor Marlene’s memory, make a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association, P. O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C. 20090-6011.

Alvin Kalenda, 84 of Winner, SD passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2019 at the Elder Inn in Winner, SD.

Funeral service were held on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019 at 2 p.m. at the Winner United Methodist Church. Burial followed in the Winner City Cemetery.

Alvin Kalenda was born to Joe and Alice (Vrbsky) Kalenda in rural Tripp County, SD on Oct. 28, 1934, the fifth of eight children. He attended Vobr grade school and worked on the family farm.

He joined the National Guard in the late 1950’s. Alvin was at Fort Riley, KS, for the Berlin Crisis from 1962 to 1963 with a medical unit. Upon his return from Kansas, Alvin continued to work on the family farm and served in the National Guard for a total of six years.

He met Jackie Hanson and they were married in 1964. To this union three children were born: RaeMalea Kalenda of Valentine, NE; Kaylyn (Dustin) Wright of Bellevue, NE; and Denice (Troy) Gehling of Grand Meadow, MN.

Farming was Alvin’s passion and he loved his animals and working in the fields. He enjoyed a good game of pitch and could not stay off the dance floor, especially when a good polka was being played.

He is survived by his daughters RaeMalea, Kaylyn, and Denice and many other family members.

Alvin is preceded in death by his wife Jackie; parents Joe and Alice; brothers Joey, Robert, and Stanley Sr.; sisters Evelyn, Nettie, Rose and Marie along with several other family members.

Martin Jorgensen Jr., 95, of Ideal, SD passed away on Friday, Aug. 9 2019 at the Winner Regional Long-Term Care Facility in Winner, SD.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 15th, 2019 at 10 am at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Winner. Burial will follow in the Winner City Cemetery.

A visitation will be held on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019 from 6-7 pm at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Winner with a rosary beginning at 7 pm.

Martin Jr. was born on April 30, 1924 at the family farm of his parents, Martin and Gertrude Jorgensen, near Ideal, SD. The 8th of 9 children, he and his siblings grew up on the family farm helping tend to the horses, cattle, crops, and turkeys throughout the great depression years of their childhoods. Martin Jr. graduated high school from the Ideal school in 1942, where his graduating class was the last to graduate from that school.

Martin Jr. immediately went to full time work at the family farm after graduation. Despite being a young, military aged man during World War II, Martin Jr. was able to stay home and help his aging parents on the farm during those years.

His older brothers, Stanley Jorgensen and Don Jorgensen, both served in the military during WWII. Brother Don served as a Merchant Marine and brother Stanley was a navigator in a B-24 bomber and was killed in action in 1944.

Don returned home after the war and became a business partner with Martin Jr. Martin always carried deep respect for his older brothers, and his admiration of them was evident throughout Martin Jr’s. life.

On July 27, 1946, Martin married Mary I Storms of Clearfield, South Dakota. Of this union, 4 children were born: Judy, Jean, Greg, and Bryan. All 4 children were raised on the family farm north of Ideal, SD, and all attended Winner High School.

By the time Martin and Mary were wed in 1946, Martin had assumed most of the responsibility for the family farming operation. He and his brother Don were in partnership in that family operation together until 1977.

During those years together, they successfully grew many different crops, raised pigs and started a successful insurance business. Starting in the late 1950’s, Martin Jr. and Don made the decision to enter the cattle breeding business, starting with breeding Black Angus first and later adding Charolais.

In the early 1970’s when son Greg entered the business, they began breeding Simmental cattle as well. They had the most success with Black Angus cattle, which is the primary focus of the family’s cattle business to this day. Martin Jr’s. youngest son Bryan joined the operation in the late 1980’s, followed by Greg’s son Cody in the 1990’s, and Bryan’s son Nick in 2012, who combined, make up the managing partners of the operation to this day.

Martin Jr., who always had a knack for knowing when to lead by stepping aside and letting the younger generation have its chance, fully stepped away from ownership and management of the family business, Jorgensen Land and Cattle, in 2012. He spent the remainder of his years watching closely over his legacy, and enjoyed tending to a large garden, maintaining a beautiful flower garden with his wife, and afternoon drives to keep tabs on the operations at the farm.

Martin Jr. was known across the community, state, nation, and even the world as a powerful leader. He had an untamable drive to pursue what was right and would fight hard to achieve what he believed needed to be achieved.

He was deeply involved in the community as well as the agriculture industry, participating in the Tripp Co. 4H Fair Board, Tripp Co. Water User Dist. (founding chair), Governor’s Office of Economic Development, Beef Improvement Federation (chair), Integrated Resource Management (IRM) Chair, Missouri Valley Mutual Insurance board of director (chair), West River Catholic Diocese Foundation board, Charter Member of National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Research and Education Committee (National Cattlemen’s Association), and was a Wa Wo Kia Wicsa (Helpful Man) Honoree from Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

Martin Jr. was also honored as South Dakota’s Eminent Farmer in 1984, National Cattle Businessman of the Year 1988 and the American Angus Heritage Foundation Award in 1990.

Martin Jr. will always be remembered by members of his family and community as a man who would work tirelessly to achieve his goals, even if those goals didn’t benefit him directly. He was a model of leadership and bravery to many in the agriculture industry and to his family.

He is survived by his four children, Judy (Tom) Peschio, Jean (Gary) Davis, Greg (Deb) Jorgensen, and Bryan (Brenda) Jorgensen, sister Ruth O’Keefe, 16 grandchildren, 30 great grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents, wife of 72 years Mary Jorgensen, sisters; Marie, Helen, Elizabeth, and Alice and brothers; Lee, Donald and Stanley.

The family takes comfort in knowing that of all of Martin Jr’s. achievements, the one he was most proud of and dedicated to, was his marriage to his bride, Mary. They are now together again.