Anne Christopherson, former resident of Sturgis and Rapid City, died April 26, 2022, at Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls.  An informal Memorial Service will be held at 2:00pm on Friday, April 29 ^th , at Bethany Meadows Assisted Living in Brandon, SD.

Anne Davonne Shepler was adopted by David Bryce and Agnes (Landvik) Shepler, when she was 6 weeks old.  She was born Elizabeth Anne Estrem to Marlys Evelyn Estrem and Randolph Christopherson on July 14, 1935 at the old Moe Hospital in Sioux Falls.  She attended Lowell Elementary, Washington High, and Augustana College where she graduated three days after marrying Gerald A. Christopherson.

After a summer in North Dakota where Gerry did aerial crop spraying, they moved to Minneapolis where she worked for Honeywell while he attended Luther Northwestern Seminary.  She helped Gerry study for finals as she was in labor having their son, Jon.  Following a year of internship in Aberdeen they moved to Sioux Falls until a pilot slot opened for Gerry in the U.S. Air Force. After being stationed at Seymour Johnson AFB in Goldsboro, NC, where daughter Susan was born, they returned to the Twin Cities to finish seminary.

Parishes in Devils Lake, ND, Mitchell, Sturgis, and Madison, SD, followed, along with a ten-year period where Anne and Gerry both worked at Rapid City Regional hospital.  During many of these periods Anne worked as a high school substitute, then later as a full-time teacher's aide to kindergarten and pre-school children.  In Madison, SD, Anne taught English as a Second Language to foreign students, making long-lasting friendships with people around the globe.  She loved teaching.

In every location Anne was active in volunteering and community organizations, being on many community and state boards in addition to church work as an organist, choir director, Bible studies, Sunday School, and Confirmation teacher.  She loved accompanying Gerry when he sang and playing for high school musicals.

Anne's Norwegian heritage gave her great delight in the paths of crafting, baking, historical research, and genealogy. She and Gerry traveled around the region and beyond searching courthouses, cemeteries, and more for genealogical hints long before the days of internet genealogy. She canned and froze the food that she enjoyed growing wherever she could have a garden. The wonders of nature in God's world touched her soul, particularly those in her beloved Black Hills while living there.

In 1997 they retired to Sioux Falls and they soon became "snowbirds" to Sun City, AZ, for half of each year.  Anne also enjoyed traveling extensively, including trips to the Holy Land, the UK, Ireland, Norway and Sweden, Germany, China, Italy, Alaska, and even took their kids and grandkids on a cruise around Hawaii to celebrate their 50 ^th wedding anniversary.

Anne is survived by her son, Jon (Kary) of Brandon, SD; daughter, Susan of Midlothian, TX; grandchildren, Bryce (Anna) and Laura; great-grandson, Kendall, and half-sister, Carol Ames of Bemidji, MN, and three other half-siblings in Washington state.

She was preceded in death by her husband, both adoptive and biological parents, and several half-siblings.

An informal Memorial Service will be held at 2:00pm on Friday, April 29 ^th , at Bethany Meadows Home in Brandon, SD.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to a charity of your choosing.