Emma Lucille Bickley, aka "Cookie" 83, passed away peacefully on September 15, 2026 at Hugs Haven Assisted Living in Sturgis, SD. She had resided there for seven years where she enjoyed being spoiled by the staff and being closer to many family members.

Emma was born May 4, 1943 to George Byron McFarland and Gladys Esther (Holst) McFarland in Sturgis. She was the youngest of ten children. She graduated Sturgis Brown High School in May 1961, and attended South Dakota State University until July 1965, when she graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Arts and Science with a major in English. While attending SDSU, she met and later married James Michael Bickley on September 5, 1964. They were divorced 20 years later. During those years, they had miscarried a baby girl they named Michelle whose ashes will be interred with her in Spearfish.

Cookie worked after graduation for AT&T in Illinois, then Pillsbury in Minneapolis. She later began working as a civil servant for the Defense Department, specializing in contracting through the Army. She was awarded the Department of the Army Achievement award, which is an honorary award given to Department of the Army civilian employees for noteworthy achievements and sustained superior service. She was the Chief of the Services Contracting Branch at White Sands Missile range for several years. She later joined the Fish and Wildlife Service from which she retired in the early 2000s.

Cookie lived in multiple cities, including Minneapolis, MN, Chicago, IL , San Diego, CA, Baltimore, MD, Fairfax, VA, Las Cruces, NM and Albuquerque, NM. After retiring from the US government, she spent a year in Alpine, CA, then settled in Tucson, AZ to be near her dear sister Margaret. In 2017, she moved to Sturgis to be closer to family after Margaret moved to North Carolina. She loved shopping, antiques, jewelry, collecting Hummels, getting her fingernails done, traveling (especially to Ireland and her timeshare at Ruidoso, NM), reading, dogs and cats, and chocolate--lots of chocolate. She also dearly loved her siblings and their spouses, all of her many nieces and nephews and their families, and often traveled to spend time, holidays, and family reunions with them.

She was preceded in death by her parents and all of siblings and most of their spouses --William B ( Ramona), Mary Ellen (Melvin D.) Jones, James W, Genevieve (Robert) Brechtel, Glenn D (Georgia), Dorothy E (Robert) Parkinson, Margaret Snyder, Gregor B, and David A. She was also preceded in death by three nephews and three nieces: Kurt Parkinson, Terry Parkinson, Jay Jones, Candice (Jones) Osborne, Patricia (Brechtel) Pyburn, and Dawn McFarland.

She is survived by three special Sisters in law's-- Ardith (Gregor), Dodie (David) and Leona (James) and 34 nieces and nephews and their families who were all very special to her.

A funeral service will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 24, 2026 at Kinkade Funeral Chapel. Visitation will begin at 5:00 p.m. Emma will be laid to rest at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 26 at Rose Hill Cemetery in Spearfish.

Supper will follow the funeral Thursday evening at Loud American in Sturgis.  Friends and family will gather for a picnic on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Spearfish park before burial. 

Should friends desire, in honor of Emma's love for animals (especially Schnauzers) memorial contributions may be made to Hobo's Healing Heart. www.hoboshealingheart.org