Mae Louise (McPherson) Keffeler

April 15,1913- January 1, 2015

Mae Louise (McPherson) Keffeler, of Sturgis, went to be with her beloved husband Bud on January 1, 2015 at the age of 101 years 8 months 17 days. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 Noon on Monday, January 5th, 2015 at the First Presbyterian Church of Sturgis with Pastor Denzel Nonhof officiating. Burial will follow at the White Owl Cemetery at 3:30 P.M. Visitation with family present will be from 2:00-5:00 P.M. on Sunday, January 4th, 2015 at Kinkade Funeral Chapel.

The 4th of 8 children, Mae was born on April 15th, 1913 to Eugene and Ida (Theirs) McPherson at their family home located on Alkali Creek. She attended grade school at the Alkali country school. She then attended Sturgis High School where she graduated in May 1930.

At the age of 17, Mae married the love of her life, Charles (Bud) Keffeler, on June 1st, 1930 at the Meade/Pennington County line. It was later discovered that Mae and Bud were actually married a few yards short of the Pennington County line. This resulted in Mae often joking that she and Bud were "never legally married."

Bud and Mae began their married life in a one room shack at Alkali. They ranched at Alkali until a drought moved them to Enning, South Dakota in 1939. Though times were tough for this young couple and they often "didn't have two pennies to rub together," their unconditional love for each other got them through. Mae and Bud did everything "Side by Side".

God blessed Mae and Bud with four children: Darleen, Duane, Kay, and Roger. All children have grown up and continue to live and ranch in Meade County. Mae's world was turned upside down on November 2nd, 1974 when she suddenly lost her beloved husband and best friend, Bud. She always was quick to tell anyone that she wouldn't have made it through that difficult time without her family.

She continued living at Enning for another 10 years. In 1984 she made the move to Sturgis. She said the Good Lord was watching over her when she found the perfect house. It had a large yard and garden spot that would allow her to exercise her strong work ethic. She mowed her own yard and grew her own garden until the age of 94.

After moving to Sturgis, Mae quickly became involved in a number of community organizations including Meals on Wheels, Hospital Auxiliary, the Meade County Senior Citizen Center and Presbyterian Women. Although she was a major asset to the First Presbyterian Church of Sturgis, it was important to her to remain a member of her home church which was the Marcus Presbyterian Church in Marcus, South Dakota.

When Mae wasn't volunteering, she enjoyed having Monday morning coffee with her friends and playing both 500 and Bridge. She also enjoyed the many trips she went on, especially those with the "Go Club" of First Western Bank.

Family was the most important thing to Mae. The highlight of each year was the Sunday before Christmas when her family gathered to celebrate. She would talk about that for an entire year until the next celebration rolled around. Mae was blessed with a large family, and she proved time and time again that she had plenty of love to go around. She touched each and every one of her kids and grandkids in a special kind of way.

Mae is survived by her children, Darleen (Chick) Simons; Duane (Sharon) Keffeler; Kay (De) King; and Roger (Diane) Keffeler. Her 11 surviving grandchildren are Grant (Nancy) Simons, Johnny (Janice) Simons, Russell (Dawn) Simons, Mickey (Drinda) Simons, Jay De (Dana) Keffeler, Joy Keffeler, Gayle (Troy) Roth, Gene King, Glen (Elke) King, Kristal Keffeler, and Michelle (Rich) Boyles. Also surviving are Mae's 26 great-grandchildren, 13 great-great-grandchildren, one great-great-great-granddaughter; and her brothers, Donald (Mabel) McPherson and Dale (Dorothy) McPherson; Sisters-in-law Rosalind McPherson, Darliene Keffeler, Irene Long, and Rose Marie Van Sickle; Brothers-in-law Murrin Keffeler and Ralph (Betty) Keffeler; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Mae was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Charles (Bud) Keffeler, both of her parents, her sister Edna Watkins and brothers Earl, Arnold, Joe, and Glenn McPherson, 9 brothers-in-law, 7 sisters-in-law, 2 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great grandson.

Memorials have been established to both the First Presbyterian Church of Sturgis and the Marcus Presbyterian Church along with the Meade County Senior Citizen Center and the Lippold Hospice Unit.

Click on link to view service folder