Category Archives: Obituaries

Pearl Chambers was born on Dec. 28th, 1934 to William (Bill) and Dottie (McCloughan) Soles in their home, with the help of a midwife, near Millboro, SD. When Pearl was around 6 years old they moved to a different home just south of Millboro. Pearl would walk 3 miles every day to school. When she was in 6th grade she would walk 1 ½ miles through pastures to school. Then her 7th and 8th grades she attended a little old home school that was a 4 mile walk. Pearl worked for her room and board while attending Winner High School during her 9th and part of her 10th grades. After all the children had grown up, Sharon tutored Pearl so she could get her high school diploma. It was such a proud day in May 1987, when she passed the exam. She couldn’t wait to call Sharon with the news.

When Pearl met Clyde Chambers of Millboro, son of Bert and Alice (Dummer) Chambers, she was 15 years old. Clyde would ride his horse over to Pearl’s place and she would get on her horse and off they would go on their date. They joined in marriage on Sept. 17, 1953. Pearl was 19 and Clyde was 21 years old at the beginning of their life journey together. Immediately after the shower they left for a short honeymoon in the Black Hills and made their home in Central City. Pearl worked at the Lead VA Hospital. Then they moved to Emmett, ID.

Charlotte Arlene was born July 29, 1954. Pearl and Clyde stayed with Ellen and Marion Goslin where Pearl worked at Jim Canning Company. Pearl and Clyde also picked apples and in the spring picked strawberries.

April 11, 1957 Cathalene Ann was born. They moved back to Idaho for a brief time. Because of the altitude they moved back to SD. They rented a place south of Clearfield where they raised pigs and milked 38 cows.

May 19, 1961 Sharon Eileen was born. Around 1965 Pearl and Clyde moved the family to the John Chleboun place and eventually bought it. Pearl lived there until October 2015. It was a very hard decision to sell the place in March 2014, but Clyde was diagnosed with only 6 months to live so he made the decision to sell. He did not want Pearl to have to deal with selling the property after he was gone.

Pearl was a charter member and the 1st President of the Winner Does, 2 term President of the local Farmers Union, President of the America Legion Auxiliary and was a current member, life time member of the VFW, and was involved in many committees. Pearl and Clyde were always volunteering either at the VFW, Legion, or the Elks Lodge. She loved being active in the community.

The time came and she was ready to get a job in town. She was very excited to work at the South Central Adjustment Training Center; Pearl also worked at Beverly Enterprises and in 1987 was selected as Employee of the Month. In 1994 Pearl started working at Coast to Coast (True Value) she was only about 6 months from being there 20 years and really wanted to go back. Due to Clyde’s health and then her declining health, she was not able to.

From the end of 2013 through Oct 2015 Pearl, and Clyde until his passing, lived part-time with Sharon Novotny in Sioux Falls SD. Oct 2015 Pearl moved in permanently and in June 2016 moved with the Novotny’s to Anthony FL. Pearl loved to eat the grapefruits that were picked off the tree in the yard. She attended many plays that her Grandson was in and on her 82nd birthday, Cody and Toni Novotny surprised her by taking her back stage to meet the cast of one of his plays. She enjoyed sitting outside and watching the horses next door. Pearl loved the family’s 2 dogs and cat, and loved when the cat would lay on her lap.

Pearl was making all the decisions up to the day before she passed. She wanted to go to the Legacy Hospice House so the 2 little dogs could visit her one last time. Her wish was granted she loved them so much. Pearl passed away the next morning, at the Legacy House, with Sharon by her side.

Pearl is survived by her three children: Sharon (Dewey) Novotny, Cathalene (Jack) Russell, Charlotte Deaver, Grandchildren: Toni and Cody Novotny, Kevin and Kelly VanMatre, Cory (Melissa) VanMatre, Jaden Russell, Darcie (Chris) Ward, Christopher Deaver, Stephanie (Shawn) Ray, Michelle Deaver, and 11 Great Grandchildren. One Brother George Soles, Sisters: Nellie Warner, Helen Michel, Ellen Goslin, Mary Hayford

Preceding in death: Her husband, Clyde Chambers, Parents: William Soles and Dottie Jensen, one Son-In-Law Wayne Deaver, Brothers: Johnnie, Frank, Harold, Lewis, and Bud Soles, and Sisters: Velma Wilch, Ines Sharp, Anna Divine

Melinda Jean (Schlaht) Kruse, age 57, of Luverne, Minn., passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018, at the Sanford Luverne Hospice Cottage surrounded by family. Her diagnosis of metastatic pancreatic cancer was Dec. 6, 2017.

She was born April 1, 1960, in Burke, SD to Maurice and Sylvia (Iler) Schlaht. She attended Burke Elementary and High School, active in band and chorus, graduating in 1978. Melinda earned her Secretarial Degree from Mitchell Area Vo-Tech. Later continuing her education at Lake Area Vo-Tech, where she obtained her Dental Assistant Degree. Due to her health, Melinda recently resigned as general manager for TJ Enterprises.

Melinda treasured her time with family and adored her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed being around people and making them laugh. She found pleasure in playing the piano, Yahtzee, puzzles, crocheting, and reading. Melinda will be remembered for always thinking of others before herself. Her love, care and concern had no boundaries. She was a member of the United Methodist Church and Order of the Eastern Star.

Melinda is survived by her two children, Whit Kruse (Alissa Schmitt), Magnolia; and Jennifer Kruse, Adrian; three grandchildren, Aliyah, Dominic and Olivia; mother, Sylvia Schlaht, Burke, SD; four siblings, Maurie (Cheryl Hoffart) Schlaht, Jr., Gregory, SD; Gregg (Joan) Schlaht, Lockhart, TX; Brenda (Arlyn) Klundt, Lead, SD; and Jody (Pat) O’Brien, Okoboji, IA; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her father; Maurice Schlaht Sr.; and a niece.

A memorial service was held on Jan., 19 at 10 am at the United Methodist Church, in Luverne, officiated by Pastor Theodora K. Hall.

A memorial service was also held on Jan. 19 at 5 pm at the United in Faith Methodist Church in Burke, SD. A private family service will be at a later date at the Herrick Cemetery in Herrick, SD

RoseMary Powell the daughter of David J. and Hazel J. (Merchen) Powell was born on Dec. 7, 1941 in rural Winner, SD. She grew up and attended schools in the Winner area. RoseMary’s most rewarding job was that of taking care of her family as “Mom” and “Grandmother”. Rosemary also worked as a team member for Jack Links for 12 years.

RoseMary enjoyed camping, fishing, gardening, and playing pool. Rosemary loved cooking and was considered to be the best at her job by her entire family. Her family was very important to her and she loved spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoyed spending time with her dogs.

Grateful for having shared in Rose’s life are the love of her life, Keith Songer; her sons: David (Joni) Tracy of Norfolk, NE, Darrell (Kari) Songer of Huron, SD, Donald Songer of Dallas, SD, Douglas Songer of Huron, SD, Duane (Ruth) Songer of Huron, SD; Brian (Tonya Petersen) Songer of Huron, SD, and Timothy (Leslie) Songer of Huron, SD ; daughters: Charlotta Schieffer of Riverton, WY, Carolyn (Kurt) Wallace of Arlington, SD, and Vickie Songer of Huron, SD; 27 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; brothers, Richard (Myra) Powell of Winner, SD and Don (Connie) Powell of Parkston, SD; sisters, Darlene (Bill) Determan of Pierce, NE and Betty (Harold) Lund of Sand Springs, OK; and several nieces and nephews.

Rose was preceded in death by her parents; 2 sons, Daniel and Jimmy Songer; brothers, John and David Powell; granddaughter, Rebecca; and great-grandson, Ethan.

Donald was born on May 16, 1932 in Kennebec, South Dakota. He graduated from high school in Winner, SD and then he served in the US Navy from 1951 to 1955. He graduated in 1959 from the School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, SD with a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. He completed his master’s degree at the University of Southern California. He moved to Los Angeles in 1959 where he started working for the Hughes Aircraft Company as an electrical engineer. His first project was on one of the pioneering large-scale computer-controlled test systems for the US Air Force to test the Minuteman Missile Guidance Systems. He continued as a Systems Engineer on Hughes Satellite Systems and their ground control equipment. He retired from the Hughes Aircraft Company Space & Communications Group in 1991 as a senior scientist.

Donald never married.

He was preceded in death by his parents Clio Noy Vesely and Eliane Christine Neuhaus Vesely, both of Moser, S.D.; and by his sisters, Clione Vesely, of Glendale, CA and Marilynn Vesely, of Riverside, CA.

He is survived by two sisters, Bonnie Wann, of Riverside, CA and Mickey Steiger, of Sturgis, S.D.; niece Bernadette Merrill, of Riverside, CA; nephews, Don Fink of Baker, OR, Con Fink of Riverside, CA and Rock Steiger of Sturgis, S.D.

William Michael Reis was born Oct. 11, 1955 in Chamberlain, to Dennis and Arlene (Krech) Reis. He grew up on the White River bottom, where he learned to grow up tough after being bitten by a rattlesnake. He attended Bull Creek Country School through the eighth grade and Chamberlain High School, graduating in 1973. After high school, he attended the University of South Dakota at Springfield for one year. He then returned to the ranch and worked with his father, and continued working there until his death.

On Oct. 18, 1980, Will was united in marriage to Pamela Fisher at Winner, SD. They made their home on the ranch. To this union three children were born: Brian, Katie, and Andy.

Will was a supervisor of the American Creek Conservation District, a member of the Reliance Jaycees, an RACD charter member, and a member of the Zion Lutheran Church. He was a big fan of the lawn mower races, where he was Brian’s one and only pit man.

He took pride in his cattle herd, knowing each cow almost individually. He originally raised primarily Herefords. As markets changed over time, he transitioned to raising more Angus, which he sure cussed a lot more on cattle working days.

Will passed away on Jan. 14, 2018, at his home in Reliance after a short battle with cancer. Gratefully sharing his life are his wife, Pam, of 37 years; son, Brian and his wife Jenna Reis, grandson, Briggs Reis, of Plankinton; daughter, Katie and her husband Matt Wiederrich of Sioux Falls; son, Andy Reis, of Reliance.
Preceding Will in death were his parents Dennis and Arlene Reis and an infant brother Gerald Reis.

Daniel Arthur Shutt was born on May 14, 1960 in Yankton, SD to Arthur and Frances (Klimisch). He grew up on a farm near Utica, SD and went to Kietzman Country School from first through fourth grade. He then completed the rest of his education in Yankton and graduated in 1978 from Yankton High School. He loved to work on cars. He would buy cars and fix them up. He had some pretty sweet rides over the years. Dan could tinker on cars forever and never tire of it. He helped his dad with farming growing up and one of his first jobs was farming for a neighbor. He moved out to Arizona for something different and worked construction. He also lived in Las Vegas, NV and Albany (Latham), NY before finally returning home to Yankton to help his family with farming, drive cement truck, and finally settling on Kolberg Pioneer, Inc. He loved what he did and he worked hard at whatever he did.

Dan is survived by his significant other, Twila Stibral of Yankton,SD and her children, Jennifer (Ryan) Aldren of Whitewood, S.D. and Christopher Stibral of Yankton, SD; son, Heath of New York; stepsons, Erik Vernieu and Tyler Vernieu, both of New York; mother, Frances Shutt of Yankton, SD; sister, Nancy Shutt of Yankton, SD; brother, Mike Shutt of Yankton, SD and many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Dan was preceded in death by his grandparents, Alvin and Florence Shutt and Bernard and Marcella Klimisch; son, Cody in 2009 and father, Art in 2011.

Doris Mae Recker was born on Dec. 29, 1933 at home in Miranda, SD to Henry and Elmina (Moul) Recker. She graduated from Faulkton High School in 1953 and attended business college in Rapid City, SD. Doris worked at the Faulk County Courthouse in the Auditors office following graduation. All though a majority of her life was spent as a homemaker she was employed outside of the home as her children grew, working in the dietary department of McKennan Hospital, the fabric department of Wal-Mart in Peru, Il, Hardees on East 10th Street in Sioux Falls and as a teacher’s aide at Cleveland Elementary School.

On March 29, 1959 she married George Harter in Faulkton, SD. They lived in Aberdeen, SD their first year of marriage. In 1960, they moved to Sioux Falls. They remained residents of Sioux Falls except for one year, in the late 1960’s when they lived in Faulkton, SD and in the early 90’s when they moved to Peru, Ill. for five and a half years. While living in Peru, Doris attended Illinois Valley Community College and worked at Walmart. They spent several winters in Chandler and Apache Junction, Arizona.

Doris was known for her homemade caramel rolls and loved making and sharing Christmas candy every year. She also was a fabulous seamstress and baked and decorated gorgeous cakes. Doris also enjoyed listening to music, coffee time with friends and dancing with George.

Doris will be deeply missed by her husband three children; Bob (Lynn) Harter, Beth (Mark) Honerman and Cindy (Cary) Crawford; two grandchildren, Seth (Sarah) Honerman and Jason Honerman; and one great-grandchild, Robyn Honerman.

Doris was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Elmina Recker; two brothers, Robert (Emy) Recker, and Harold Recker.

Online condolences at www.heartlandfunerals.com

Alvin Paul Eagle Star was born to Peggy Eagle Star and Alvin Willard in Wagner, South Dakota on Dec. 11, 1982. He then lived in Gregory South Dakota until his Grandmother Tina Eagle Star passed away.

After that he moved to Sioux Falls where he went to school and met many friends. In 2000 Alvin went to the Marty Indian School where he graduated.

Alvin has two boys of his own, Dominick Eagle Star and Dexter Eagle Star.

Alvin is survived by his brothers; Michael John Patterson, Jaron Joseph Patterson and William Raymond Eagle Star. Alvin is also survived by his sister Amber Rose Eagle Star, Uncles; Ron and Don Eagle Star and many more aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

David was born in Colby, KS at his grandmother’s home on March 3, 1940 to Alice and Edward Smith. They moved to the Colome area in 1952. Shortly after moving to South Dakota, David’s parents divorced. After his parent’s divorce David and his brothers moved frequently and lived in various places. Due to these frequent moves David missed a lot of school, but graduated from Witten High School in 1960.

During high school and after graduation David worked for Clarence Smith at the Witten bar. He also worked various commercial plumbing construction jobs with his brother Bill. He later worked at the Texaco station for Merle King for five years. He also owned Dave’s Mobil for two years.

David married Elaine Week on New Year’s Eve 1965. They owned and operated the Sears Catalog store for almost 25 years. David did all the appliance repairs for the store and could fix practically anything. Also during this time, they owned Dave’s Boot Repair where they did boot and leather repair. When the Sears store closed, he took a job at the Winner Jail as a corrections officer.

David enjoyed visiting with people and telling stories. He spent a lot of time watching his pet duck and chickens. Dave’s dogs were very important to him. Most of his free time was devoted to his dogs. He also spent time working on home and car projects with his family.

He is survived by his wife Elaine, daughters Susan Boerner (Kenneth) and Kristine Smith. His grandsons Luke and Iver Boerner, his brothers Bill (Evelyn) of Aurora, CO, Jim (Pat) of Hemet, CA, John (Sheila) of Rapid City, SD, and Keith (Carol) of Mitchell, SD. Sister in law Amy Russell of Evansville, WY, and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father Edward Smith, his mother Alice Connelly, Step father John Connelly, in-laws Ellece and Iver Week, sister in law Iva Week, and brother in law Charles Russell.
A family service will be held at a later date.

Gerhardt R. Bartling was born July 21, 1924 to Henry and Elizabeth (Klein) Bartling and died Jan. 6, 2018 at his home in rural Herrick, South Dakota.

Gerhardt grew up on the family farm with his seven brothers and two sisters. He was baptized, confirmed and was a life long member of the Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in Burke. He graduated from Burke High School and enjoyed playing baseball with local teams. He then joined the service, and it was during that time he met Joan Inglett and they were joined in marriage in 1951.

After their marriage they lived on a ranch outside of Lucas, where they began raising registered Herefords. They later moved to an acreage outside of Burke and settled there to raise their family. Gerhardt enjoyed fishing, playing cards, caring for his livestock and visiting with friends and family. He loved to watch baseball and cheer on the Minnesota Twins. He was an active member of the American Legion, Hereford Association, Livestock Improvement Association and always available to help out his neighbors. He ran the Gregory County Spray Service for several years, spraying livestock and trees. He was a man that understood nature and the effects on mankind. He was thankful for the blessings of a good harvest, but respected the wrath as well. Gerhardt was known for his friendly smile, hard work ethic and his kindness.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan, his infant son, Morris Dean Bartling, and a grandson, Grant Simunek.

Gerhardt is survived by his seven children: Jay Bartling of Herrick, SD; Jan and Mike Simunek of Hot Springs, SD; Sherri Raschke of Herrick, SD; Bart and Julie Bartling of Gregory, SD; Laurie and Doug Wernke of Lennox, SD; Matt Bartling of Herrick, SD; and Krista and Dean Holliday of Orchard, NE; seventeen grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren. Also surviving are: brother, Alvin Bartling of Burke, SD; sister-in-law, Fern (Lloyd) Bartling of Gregory, SD; sister-in-law, Norma (Gene) Inglett of Burke, SD; brother-in-law, Gale and Jan Inglett of Roseville, CA; sister-in-law, Cheryl (Neal) Inglett of Reseda, CA; sister-in-law, Velma and Neal Burkinshaw of Newport, NE and sister-in-law, Lila and David Howe of Corte Madera, CA.