Lillie Ann Truhe passed away on March 25, 2016, at the age of 94 and went to her heavenly home after a courageous battle with cancer.
Visitation will be 3 to 5 p.m., Friday, April 8th at Behrens-Wilson Funeral Home, 632 St Francis Street, Rapid City. Funeral services will be held for Lillie Ann on Saturday, April 9th, at 11 am at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Pine Lawn Memorial Park.
Lillie Ann was born on July 2, 1921, to Felix and Anna (Riha) Watzel who were homesteaders near Colome, SD, in 1909. She was the youngest of eight children. Her mother passed away when Lillie Ann was two years old.
Lillie graduated from Winner High School in 1938 at the age of 16. She attended Southern State Teachers’ College in Springfield, SD, and received a teaching credential. During her first year of teaching she met Clint Truhe. They were married in January of 1940 and became life-long companions for 63 years. They were blessed with five children. Their children’s activities were important to them and came first and foremost.
During the first years of their marriage they owned and operated a farm near Clearfield. In 1946 they moved to Winner where they purchased a feed and seed produce business. Clint and Lillie Ann were active members of the Methodist Church. She belonged to the Winner Women’s Club and participated in community events.
In 1956 she resumed teaching and taught at rural schools in Tripp County and later taught elementary school in the Winner School District. After many years of attending summer school at Southern State Teacher’s College she received a Bachelor Degree in1966.
Clint and Lillie moved to Rapid City in 1966 where she taught at the Ellsworth Air Force Base for the next 18 years. She was a professional and dedicated educator. She received a special award at a state teacher’s convention and had her name placed on a plaque in the S.D.E.A facility at the capital in Pierre.
In 1971 they built their retirement home north of Rapid City and lived there for the next 27 years. Over the years they held family reunions in the Black Hills and other states where their children lived. Lillie Ann and Clint were a fun loving couple and lived life to the fullest. One of their greatest passions was dancing. It was said that all their dance steps could have taken them around the world. She belonged to the First United Methodist Church, Retired Teachers Association, VFW Women’s Auxiliary; Women of the Moose Lodge; Card Club and Canyon Lake Senior Citizens.
In 1998 they moved back to Rapid City. After Clint passed away in 2003 she continued to live alone for 11 years. Suffering from health issues and macular degeneration, she moved to NC to be near her son DeWayne and his wife Fern in early 2014.
Loading ...