Jerry Joe Wurnig, 68, Hereford, died at his residence on Monday, May 29, 2006.

Visitation will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis. A Rosary and Christian Prayer service will be offered at the funeral chapel at 7 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be 10 a.m. Friday, June 2, 2006, at the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Sturgis with Fr. Bob Baden officiating. Burial follows at the St. Eustace Cemetery near Hereford.

Jerry was born March 25, 1938, at Deadwood, SD, to Joseph and Ethel (Galbraith) Wurnig. He moved to his present home near Hereford at the age of four. Jerry attended country schools and graduated from Sturgis High School in 1956. He attended a year of college at South Dakota State and one year at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology before returning to the ranch.

Jerry married Katherine Brenner at Rapid City on August 9, 1966.

The couple farmed and ranched near Hereford for the remainder of their lives.

Jerry was an active 4-H parent and helped his children. He was a member of the St. Eustace Catholic Church and the Hereford Volunteer Fire Department.

Survivors include his son, Jason Wurnig and his friend Susanne Ullrich, Athens, GA; daughters, Lisa Wurnig-Johnson and her husband Ray, Sturgis, Paula Eatherton, Rapid City; one sister, Darla Syman and her husband Fred, Colorado Springs, CO; grandchildren, Liam Kautz, Gwen and Marcus Johnson, Zachary Finley, Nicholas, Caleb and Ashley Fousek; great grandchildren, Eli Finley and Gabriel Fousek.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and wife "Kay."