Delmar "Del" Joseph Fackelman was the only child of Harvey C. Fackelman and Irene C. (Rivers) Fackelman. He was born August 28, 1927, at the Pierre, SD, Hospital. "Del", as he was known, was raised in Ft. Pierre, SD.

Growing up his one passion was baseball, at which he excelled; he had quite a reputation as a pitcher. One incident that shaped his pitching career happened early in life. He and his friends threw rocks into his Grandpa's Red Granary thru a window. When Grandpa found out he helped them get more practice by throwing them back out! He played for Ft. Pierre, the Grange Team, Four Corners, and Philip, eventually moving to Rapid City. He pitched against the Minneapolis Giants and the Pierre Cowboys.

After he was out of school, he drove truck for his Uncle Walt. He also worked for the State Highway Department during the Blizzard of 1949, operating a Cat from Ft. Pierre to Hayes and back, and then south to Vivian!

Delmar grew up in Ft. Pierre. Later the family moved to Bremerton, Washington. On returning to South Dakota his father was a security guard for the Rapid City Air Base. Del moved around, finding himself in Ft. Pierre, Philip, Rapid City, ending up in Sturgis, with his family in 1959. During all this he met Darlene McBride and they were married in 1948. They were later divorced.

After coming to Sturgis, he worked for Piggly Wiggly, later becoming the assistant manager at Sooper Dooper. Del went on to Gillette, WY, in 1968, working in the oil fields. In '69 he went to Alaska to work on the pipeline. On his return he worked for the Meade County Highway Department for about a year.

He then started his career with the City of Sturgis working as the street foreman. He eventually became the supervisor for the city landfill, where he met and made many new friends. Del retired from the city in 1996 with 30 years of service.

He enjoyed his time with friends Lee and Jan Wegenke, traveling to many gun shows and other 'adventures'. He liked to work in his yard, build bird houses, and feed the birds and rabbits. On many mornings you'd find him at Lynn's Dakotamart having coffee and breakfast, solving the world's problems.

Delmar "Del" Fackelman, 94, passed away on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Richard Jon; and his beloved dog, Boots.

He is survived by his sons, Kevin, Lawrence (Linda), and Mike (Mildred); daughter, Gigi (Robert) Bolinger; 10 grandchildren; 21 great grandchildren; 6 great great grandchildren; special granddaughter, Tammy Taylor and family, and Talona Olson; and special friends, Lee and Jan Wegenke and Roger Peterson.

Click on the link to view service folder