Harvey Glen Fitzgerald was born October 29, 1928, to Harvey Good and Stella (Green) Fitzgerald in a maternity home in Sturgis, SD. He lived with his family on the home farm/ranch located northwest of Enning, SD. Life then was prosperous with cattle, hogs, and chickens, not to mention an abundant crop operation run with an extensive and modern equipment investment. He was very young when the drought, grasshoppers, and great depression turned things around.
His grade school education came with turmoil and challenge as he and his four sisters found themselves attending multiple Meade county schools from South Pleasant View to Stoneville. With most young men gone to World War II, he became an attractive ranch hand during his 7th grade school year where he earned 50 cents per day with room and board during a rainy snowy season with leaky overshoes and no raincoat. He was cutting his teeth on driving teams of horses putting up hay in the summers. He was sought out by several other ranches until entering the Army in 1951.
He was then described by the army as having blond hair, blue eyes, 70" tall, 175 lb. soldier that was destined for duty in Germany as an artillery soldier for "A" Battery, 426th Field Artillery Battalion.
Harvey married his beautiful bride and lifelong partner (June) Marilyn Pribble in Belle Fourche, SD, on June 29, 1956. They settled in Sturgis, SD, and filled their home with love and three children, Byron, Harvey L., and Juanita. Devotion to each other and their marriage made them inseparable with an inner peace to sustainment through good times and hard times although you would never hear them complain. Harvey's passion often focused on trying to find relief from Marilyn's lifetime struggle with arthritis.
Harvey worked at the Homestake Gold Mine in Lead, SD and later at logging and skidding timber in the Black Hills where he found his teamster skills to again be of great value. He eventually joined the South Dakota Department of Transportation and served over 25 years before retiring in 1987.
Harvey and Marilyn found great joy together in sharing time with family and friends while camping throughout most of western South Dakota and especially the Black Hills. Fishing and hunting were his solitary hobbies but he was most at home playing pitch, whist, hearts, and other card games with his many friends and relatives. The Fitzgerald home was seldom silent on weekends and social events lasted way into the evenings on most occasions.
Growing up during the depression instilled in Harvey a value of "making due" with what you had to work with while never giving up on making life better. He always worked hard with his hands and amazed his family by building and inventing what he needed, most often from items seen by most as surplus clutter. This lesson was not lost on his three children as his inspiration was in his living example of thrift, charity, diligence, patience, and always love.
Harvey and Marilyn retired to their new home in Hermosa, SD, in 1988 where they raised sheep, cattle, and horses. They became members of Our Saviors Lutheran Church and continued to add to an already long list of close friends through worship. Harvey was a long-time member of American Legion Post 303. These were the years when their priority turned to nurturing grandchildren and building stronger family ties.
Harvey died peacefully on February 18, 2019, at the age of 90 years at the Michael J. Fitzmaurice Veterans Home in Hot Springs, SD.
He is survived by his sons, Byron (Linda) Fitzgerald of Green River, WY, and Harvey Lloyd (Velva) Fitzgerald, Buffalo Gap, SD; daughter, Juanita VanVlerah (Rick Woodard), Gillette, WY; 7 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren; and his sister, Audrey Howard.
He was preceded in death by both parents; his wife, Marilyn; his brother, Ralph Thomas Fitzgerald; sisters, Shirley Demerly, Wyona Sundstrom, and Mavis Symonds; son-in-law, Jeff VanVlerah; and one granddaughter, Llora Fitzgerald.
Visitation will be Wednesday, February 20, 2019, from 5-8 p.m. at Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis, and Thursday, February 21, 2019, from 5-8 p.m.at Our Saviors Lutheran in Hermosa.
Funeral services will be held Friday, February 22, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at Our Saviors Lutheran Church in Hermosa, SD, with Reverend Deb Grismer officiating.
A memorial has been established to American Legion Post 303 in Hermosa.
Condolences may be sent to the family at www.kinkadefunerals.com .

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